


One Stormy Night on Lakeview Road

by Mazanica



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: But no actual sex scenes until far in the future mkay, Eventual Sex, Eventual violence, F/F, F/M, Female!Mangle, HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS, I split it into three, It's pretty sexual after the first three chapters, M/M, Original/Toys, Really long introductory chapter because I couldn't stop writing, Skewed vampire lore, Strong Language, This does have a plot, VAMPIRE ANTHRO AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:20:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 41,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6710203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazanica/pseuds/Mazanica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bonnie and his friends were children, they were always told to stay away from the old mansion on Lakeview Road. As most children do, they disobey their parents and decide to go inside the abandoned house... and they discover that it isn't so abandoned after all. After the "weirdoes" who live there fail to scare them away and a storm traps them there for the night, they strike up an odd, one-night friendship with the strange adults.</p>
<p>Fourteen years later, that stormy night is just a distant memory and Bonnie, Freddy, Chica, and Foxy are convinced that it had been nothing more than just a game they played. Goldie, however, still believes that it was real. When they come home after graduating university, two run-ins with familiar faces may be all he needs to prove that he was right. However, this raises more questions than anything... such as why the familiar faces have not changed at all in the last fourteen years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction: Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, guys, I’m gonna do this story while I’m doing Beneath Their Masks. Beneath Their Masks is very high maintenance; every time I update, I update with ten chapters, two per story and one per main character, I only ever copy-paste dialogue to be sure I get everything the same, and I have to use two or three previously-written chapters as a reference for what happens since all five stories are so intertwined. Because of this, writing that story takes a lot of time and I only have so much patience with a story at a time, so I’m gonna write this between working on BTM.
> 
> This will be just one story that switches between characters rather than five stories focusing on one pairing, since I want to make this as low-maintenance as possible. And although it will switch between characters, the actual main characters will be the three rabbits and Goldie.
> 
> This was supposed to be a short introduction chapter and it turned into like 10,000 words so I split it up into three chapters haha.

Every city in every corner of the world has that one place that no one ever goes. Homes that people never stay in long, hospitals closed down for dark reasons, abandoned asylums, trails through the woods, certain areas of parks… these are the places that no one goes but everyone has a story about. The places mothers and fathers warn their children to never even go near. Everywhere has that one place that everyone, whether or not they’re superstitious, knows is off somehow.  
  
That one place where no one dares to tread.

* * *

 _“Blu says we’ll be having visitors within the next few days.”_  
  
_“Visitors? Is it more ghost hunters?”_  
  
_“You could say that… he says that he saw five children. If it comes to pass, it is probably their curiosity which leads them here… you know parents around here say never come near this mansion.”_  
  
_“Curiosity… isn’t that how it always goes? The child gets curious and goes where mom and dad told them to never go… familiar story, huh? But I suppose when you say children you mean younger than we were.”_  
  
_“Yes. He believes them to be somewhere between seven and ten.”_  
  
_“They’ll be easy enough to scare off, then. If they even enter the house, anyway… Children that young get scared of storms, after all.”_  
  
_“True. So we just go the normal route?”_  
  
_“Yes. Though… maybe tone it down a bit. We don’t want to traumatize children, after all…”_  
  
_“Of course.”_

* * *

For as long as the children of Durmont could remember, they had always been told to never go near the old mansion on Lakeview Road. For as long as their parents could remember, they had been told to never go near the old mansion on Lakeview Road.  
  
Their grandparents, however, could remember the day that house became… _off_. The day that the long-abandoned home went from being lonely and sad to being creepy and eerie, the day that it went from the house everyone _ignored_ to the house everyone _avoided_. The day that stories started of a haunting; dim candlelight reflecting off of the windows, silhouetted figures staring down at the streets below, strange happenings around the property…  
  
Maybe that was why Bonnie wasn’t sure why he and his friends were standing on the sidewalk in front of the gate, nearly a mile from their own neighborhood, and gazing up at the locked gate. The sun was just setting behind dark clouds and no one was outside, meaning no one was there to watch the five eight-year-olds.  
  
“Let’s just climb it,” the fox suggested, staring at the iron bars.  
  
“Bonnie can’t climb that, are you crazy?” the chicken shot back, crossing her arms.  
  
“The bars are wide enough to slip through,” the brown bear stated as flatly as a child his age could, pulling himself up onto the gate’s bottom horizontal bar and sliding through. “See?”  
  
“Cool!” his golden brother cheered, following his brother’s lead. Bonnie frowned as he watched his friends hurry to do the same and soon he was the only one left on the outside. “C’mon, Bonnie!”  
  
“Guys, mom and dad said not to come here,” Bonnie told them, wringing his hands worriedly. “Let’s just go home, before we’re missed.”  
  
“If you want to go home go ahead, but we’re gonna look around!” the chicken huffed, crossing her arms. “C’mon, Bonnie, do you really want to walk home alone?”  
  
The purple rabbit looked down the darkening street. His house was more than a twenty minute walk from here… “N-no…”  
  
“Then c’mon!”  
  
Bonnie knew very well that he shouldn’t, but instead of saying he would wait outside, he grabbed hold of the bars and pulled himself up and through the gate. As he did so, hit foot slipped and he tumbled onto the cobbled walkway leading up to the old mansion. He looked up towards the building; from his vantage point, it looked like he was walking into one of those horror movies his big brother Shabby liked so much. It sent a shiver down his spine.  
  
Then someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet. “Thanks, Freddy,” he thanked the brown bear, who nodded in acknowledgement. Then, without warning, the red fox darted away from the group and to the porch of the house. With a shout, the golden bear and yellow chicken followed suit.  
  
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you,” Freddy assured the scared rabbit. Bonnie gave him a grateful smile and together they followed their friends up the uneven path. Bonnie hesitated briefly before climbing up the creaking stairs onto the even-creakier porch. Foxy was standing on his tip-toes with his hands braced against the wooden siding, trying to peek into the boarded-up windows, while Chica was trying to climb up onto the old guard rail.  
  
“D-don’t do that, Chica, it’ll fall!” Freddy immediately protested, hurrying over to his friend. Bonnie turned his gaze to Goldie, who was pulling the rotted wood covering the door off.  
  
“You don’t wanna go inside, do you?” he asked nervously, walking over to the golden bear. Behind him he could hear Freddy and Chica arguing.  
  
“Well duh!” Goldie laughed, yanking enough of the wood off the uncover the large iron doorknob. “Help me, Bonnie. If I give it a good enough tug the rest of the boards will break with it.” Bonnie took one look at the door and saw the problem with Goldie’s idea.  
  
“The door opens in, Goldie,” Bonnie pointed out, frowning. “You push it, not pull.”  
  
“Oh. Well that makes it better!” he laughed, yanking at more of the rotted boards. “Just make a hole big enough for us and we can get in!”  
  
Bonnie sighed and reached forward, helping his taller friend yank the wood away from the door. Soon enough they had peeled enough away and Bonnie realized the other three were standing behind them.  
  
“You know it’s likely locked, right?” Freddy told them with a frown, staring at the doorknob.  
  
“If we can get a window open one of us can slip through and unlock it,” Foxy suggested as Goldie tried turning the knob with no luck.  
  
“If the door’s locked what makes ya think the windows ain’t?” Chica snorted, lightly hitting Foxy upside the head and earning a small yelp from him. “We have to find some way else.”  
  
“Or we can just go home,” Bonnie said nervously, playing with his left ear and watching his friends. “It’s dark and looks like it’s gonna storm and mom and dad are gonna worry...” he trailed off as it became apparent none of the others were listening to him. He narrowed his eyes at them but then slumped his shoulders; he really needed to learn to be more assertive like they were.  
  
“Y’know, the door’s pretty rotten too,” Goldie observed, demonstrating by yanking the doorknob side-to-side in its socket. The wood around it easily broke away. “If we pull it hard enough I bet it’ll come right out!”  
  
“Let’s try it,” Foxy agreed eagerly, reaching up to grab onto it around Goldie’s hands. Together, the two began yanking on the knob. As expected, the wood splintered and gave easily enough and the knob tore itself out of its place, the other side of the knob coming with it. They dropped the useless iron down on the porch and pushed the door inwards. Without its locking mechanism in place, it opened with a screeching complaint.  
  
Bonnie’s ears flattened but he followed his friends through the hole in the boards, glancing nervously back outside before turning his gaze to the room around him.  
  
It was oddly… not falling apart. All of the windows were boarded up on the outside, but inside thick black curtains covered them. It was dark and hard to see anything, but from the light filtering in through the open door he could see that the tiles were black and white and two grand staircases curved around the sides of the room and up to the first floor landing where two more staircases were set into the wall, out of sight. He couldn’t see the ceiling but he thought he could see a flicker of light reflecting off of a chandelier. He wasn’t really sure.  
  
The doors off of the entrance room were closed, but the hallway beneath the landing and between the stairs seemed to completely lack a door and, therefore, was open. Bonnie couldn’t see down it, though; the hallway was shrouded in shadows and he just knew the room on the other side was covered in black curtains as well, blocking out any piece of sunlight that could make it through the boards.  
  
“I don’t like this,” he decided instantly, his eyes trailing to the lightened curtains. There wasn’t a speck of dust on them. In fact, the only dust present was what was settling at their feet from outside. “Let’s just go home, guys…”  
  
On the inside, it didn’t look very abandoned.  
  
“No way, this is so cool!” Foxy protested, walking further into the dark room.  
  
“Don’t go too far,” Freddy warned, taking a few steps after him. He seemed a bit nervous himself. “It’s really dark in here, you could get lost.”  
  
“I’m a fox, the dark doesn’t bother me!”  
  
Bonnie sighed and slowly followed his friends further into the room. His ears twitched, though, as he caught a noise that he knew wasn’t from his friends; it sounded like shuffling… from _above_ them.  
  
His head snapped up, looking into the darkness above his head. Of course he saw nothing, but the sounds did cease immediately. “Uh, guys,” Bonnie called out to his friends as they approached the left staircase. “Guys, we should really go!”  
  
“Don’t be a baby, Bonnie!” Chica laughed, testing the bottom step. There wasn’t even a creak. “This is cool!”  
  
Bonnie raced over to his friends, not wanting to be left alone in the front hall. “Guys, something’s here,” he protested, grabbing onto Freddy’s arm and tugging on it. “Let’s just leave, we’re not s’posed to be here!”  
  
“Bonnie,” Freddy said calmly, watching his friend with concerned blue eyes, “it’s just a house. There’s nothin' here.”  
  
“What if it’s a ghost?” Foxy asked, grinning mischievously at his friends.  
  
“Stop it, Foxy!” Goldie called, frowning from where he was halfway up the stairs. “Ghosts aren’t real.”  
  
“Yes they are!”  
  
Bonnie squeaked and shook his head. “Please, Freddy, I heard something.”  
  
Just as he said this, thunder cracked outside, causing all five children to jump. They were all silent for several seconds before Chica declared, “I am not walking home in a storm.”  
  
“Me neither,” Freddy agreed with a slight nod. “You probably just heard thunder, Bonnie. Come on, we don’t wanna get lost.” He grabbed Bonnie’s hand and tugged him up the stairs, ignoring his rabbit friend’s protests.  
  
When they were at the top, though, there was a sudden screeching and a slam. The five children whirled around, staring down wide-eyed at the now-dark entrance hall.  
  
The only light came from the circular hole where a knob used to be.  
  
“Just the wind?” Goldie suggested uneasily, laughing nervously.  
  
“The wind can’t close a door from the inside,” Bonnie whimpered, holding tightly to Freddy’s arm. “I told you something was here!”  
  
As Bonnie said this, the landing around them was suddenly lit up by candles in sconces on the wall and the chandelier twenty feet above their heads. The five children let out startled shrieks as they stared, wide-eyed, at the flames casting eerie shadows on the dust-free walls.  
  
Every window, no matter how large or how high, was covered in a thick, black curtain that let no light through. Outside, the thunder rolled.  
  
“Can we leave now?” Bonnie begged, tugging at Freddy’s arm. “I don’t like this!”  
  
“Oh come on, someone’s just playin’ tricks!” Chica complained, frowning. “I bet the candles aren’t even real. Come on, now we can see where we’re going!” With that she whirled around and marched down the hallway, her bare feet making a steady _click click_ on the deep brown floorboards.  
  
Foxy followed without hesitation and, exchanging a nervous glance, Bonnie and the bear brothers began walking after them. Bonnie didn’t let go of Freddy’s arm.  
  
It wasn’t long, though, until Bonnie saw something in the corner of his eye. He jerked back and whipped his head around to stare at the shadowy corner, straining in the flickering light to see. “Did you guys see that?!”  
  
“See what?” Freddy asked, frowning in concern.  
  
“Something moved!”  
  
“You’re seeing things, scaredy-bunny,” Foxy called from several feet ahead, grinning as he turned around to look at them. However, his grin fell off and his eyes widened as he stared above their heads. Then he let out an ear-piercing shriek, causing the others to whirl around.  
  
There, on the ceiling, was a gruesome, grinning _thing_ , hanging down and staring at them with empty sockets leaking a strange black liquid, dripping down onto the wood. Its skin, for lack of a better description, was thin, brittle, blackened and what wasn’t peeling away clung to its skeleton like a shroud. From the grinning maw that made up its mouth they could see a circle of razor sharp teeth and a long, bloody-red tongue flopping uselessly down over what might have once been described as a nose.  
  
The other four let out terrified shrieks of their own and turned on their heels, running as fast as they could down the hallway and away from the grinning figure.

* * *

 _“Mangle! He said tone it down, not make the most horrifying thing in existence! They’re gonna have nightmares for weeks!”_  
  
_“What?! No one told me that!”_

* * *

Freddy grabbed both Goldie and Bonnie’s hands, wanting to make sure neither of them got separated as they ran. However, all five of them skid to a halt before even reaching the large, curtain-covered windows at the end of the hall. Standing before them was a pure black mass of what looked like ink- or maybe it was blood. Bonnie shivered and took several steps back. The melting black shadow-like thing opened two bright red eyes and then followed suit with its mouth; it was even blacker than the creature’s body.  
  
With yet another shriek of terror, they whirled around and began running the other way again. However, the thing was still on the ceiling, so Goldie abruptly took a right down a narrow side hall, pulling Freddy and Bonnie along. Chica and Foxy followed without hesitance.  
  
They kept running even when they came upon a narrow set of stairs. They kept running even as the stairs led them further up to the third floor of the old mansion, and they kept running when they saw what looked like the hem of a black cloak flick around a corner, out of sight.  
  
They kept running as the thunder shook the house.  
  
Bonnie tried not to look at the shadows; every time he did, he could see things in them. Eyes staring back at him, shifting shapes darker than the vacuum of space, flashes of fangs and tendrils of… something.  
  
He was scared.  
  
When Goldie, who was now leading all of them, skid to a stop, he nearly tripped over his own two feet in his effort to stop without running into Freddy. At the end of the hallway was a large, ornate door. It looked much too heavy for any of the children to open, but maybe- maybe- if they worked together they could manage.  
  
From behind them there was a low moaning accompanied by squishy footsteps. Without hesitance, the children dashed for the door.

 

* * *

 

 _“No! They’re going the wrong way!”_  
  
_“What did you expect them to do, run towards that monstrosity you created?! Crap, we gotta warn S- they’re going in! Dammit, did someone forget to lock it?!”_  
  
_“How are they opening it? It’s twenty times bigger than them!”_  
  
_“...Guys, I think the charade is up.”_

 

* * *

  
Bonnie was almost shocked at how easy it was to push the heavy oak door open. He supposed their fear must have made it easier. Together, working as one unit, the children turned around and shoved the door closed again, just barely getting a glimpse of the dripping, slimy creature chasing them before the door slammed into place.  
  
Freddy reached up and twisted the lock, but even after the lock clicked into place none of them moved from where they stood, braced against the door as if they were strong enough to hold it closed.  
  
There was absolutely no sound, now; no sound of dripping, heavy footsteps, no sound of groaning, no flickering of shadows, nothing. Just the sound of thunder.  
  
It was Goldie who noticed it first. The room _did_ flicker, but not with the shifting firelight of candles. It briefly lit up white barely a second before the thunder crashed… and a _shadow_ accompanied it. Blue eyes wide and full of terror, he slowly turned around towards the windows at the end of the room. The others did the same, backing up against the door.  
  
The room looked like it may have once been a large office, but now it seemed to have been turned into a bedroom. Five four-poster beds, with curtains of varying colours drawn tightly shut, were spaced out, three on one side and two on the other, each with an individual wardrobe and dresser sitting against the wall beside it. That wasn’t what caught the children's eyes, though.  
  
They stared, wide-eyed, at the curved floor-to-ceiling windows. It had curtains but they were wide open, revealing the view of a sprawling, unkempt backyard and the lake lit up only by the brief flashes of lightning.  
  
Standing in front of that window was a solitary cloaked figure, its back turned to them as it stared out into the night.


	2. Introduction: Part 2

Instinctively, Bonnie _knew_ that the person knew they were there. It was standing deathly still and silent, its cloaked figure outlined by the brief, bright light.  
  
The children stared soundlessly at the figure. Bonnie didn’t have the energy to scream anymore as he slowly slid to the floor, his terror getting the best of him as the figure slowly turned around to face them.  
  
The figure stared at them in silence. Bonnie couldn’t tell what it was thinking, as its face was shrouded in shadow. After several tense, terrifying seconds, it- _he_ \- finally spoke.  
  
“I suppose the charade is up now, huh?”  
  
And then, out of nowhere- no, out of the _shadows_ \- four more forms materialized, each wearing matching pitch black cloaks with hoods pulled up as they walked to the tallest individual’s place, taking a spot on either side and turning to look at the children. _No!_  
  
“You were supposed to run to the door,” the tallest told them dully, looking at his friends on either side of him. “Now we have to-”  
  
Bonnie didn’t let him finish his words. He broke down into sudden wails, pulling his ears down in front of his face and ducking his head towards his knees. His friends immediately jerked into action, Chica dropping down next to him and hugging him while Freddy, Foxy, and Goldie stepped forwards, in front of him, as if they could defend them.  
  
However, there was no need. The moment the little rabbit began wailing, the figures jerked back and, if one were to ask Goldie or Freddy, looked almost _alarmed_.  
  
“Oh no,” the figure on the far right moaned, bringing a black-covered hand up to their shadowed face in apparent dismay. “Look what you did, Mangle!”  
  
“Me?! You were the one who didn’t tell me I was supposed to tone it back!” the figure on the left of the tallest immediately shouted, turning to look towards its companion. “Besides, you’re the one who was playing with the shadows, not me!”  
  
“Shadows aren’t as scary as those things you made! Those’d give _me_ nightmares too!”  
  
The figure on the far right yanked its hood down, revealing long, fluffy rabbit ears, bright blue fur, emerald eyes, and flushed cheeks. The figure it spoke to followed suit, revealing pristine white and pink fur and gleaming yellow eyes.  
  
_Well that’s… scary…?_  
  
“Well that’s the normal protocol, no one told me we were changing the program!” the white fox snarled back at the blue rabbit, revealing four fangs longer than the rest of her canine teeth.  
  
“Enough!” The cloaked figure on the other side of the fox pulled his own hood down, revealing rosy brown fur and angry blue eyes. “Stop it, both of you, you’re only making things worse!”  
  
_No they’re not_ , Goldie thought, glancing at Freddy. Their fear had quickly turned into perplexion. _Were we just tricked by a bunch of weirdoes?_  
  
Finally the last two cloaked figures pulled their own hoods down. One was a chicken and the other was another rabbit. The chicken, between both rabbits, had rosy cheeks like the other colourful Animals and bright blue eyes, but her beak was pulled into a frown. “Alfred, there’s no point in shouting at them, I’m pretty sure everyone screwed up on something.”  
  
The tallest Animal, a golden rabbit with bright green eyes, was frowning in disapproval. “I didn’t expect you guys to traumatize them. In fact that’s what I wanted you _not_ to do.”  
  
“It’s not my fault!” the blue rabbit immediately exclaimed, hopping away from the group and pointing accusingly at the fox. “Mangle’s the one who pulled those monstrosities out!”  
  
“You were supposed to tell her that we were changing the score,” the golden rabbit said as calmly as he could.  
  
“Guys, stop shouting at each other, the poor kids are scared enough!” the chicken intercepted, grabbing the golden rabbit’s arm. “Spring, we have to help!”  
  
“Stay away!” Freddy and Goldie immediately chorused, grabbing the weird group’s attention. “Just stay away,” Freddy repeated, carefully stepping back towards his friends.  
  
“You thought it was funny to scare a bunch of kids?!” Goldie demanded, frowning at them. “It’s not!”  
  
The five Animals seemed unsure of what to say. “No, it’s not funny,” the bear agreed slowly. “But-”  
  
“Then why do it? It’s not cool!” Goldie was aware that he was yelling at five adults but what else could he do? He had screamed like a little girl! More than once! It was humiliating, and now Bonnie was crying! “You’re just a bunch of meanies!”  
  
The Animals exchanged wary glances, unsure of what to say. Finally, the golden rabbit said, “We just wanted you to leave. You broke our door and intruded on our t- our property. We just wanted you to leave. You ran the wrong way,” he added uselessly, his hands dropping down to his side. “We have no intent to harm you.”  
  
“And we had no intent to scar you for life,” the blue rabbit added with a huff, looking at Mangle. Mangle scowled back at him.  
  
“Well, Blu, if you had just done your job-”  
  
“Stop!” the chicken immediately interrupted, sighing. A crack of thunder silenced everyone as it shook the entire house. Rain began pattering against the pane of glass before it began pouring down, echoing around them from the force of it hitting the roof. The chicken closed her blue eyes and let out another sigh. “Guys, we can’t send them out into that rain, they’ll catch their death out there.”  
  
“Why can’t kids just stay away from places like this?” Mangle complained, breaking away from the group as well and striding towards one of the wardrobes on the right side of the room. In frustration, she yanked her black cloak off, revealing a floor-length red and black dress that went out of style probably a million years ago, if you asked Goldie.  
  
If it was ever in style in the _first_ place.  
  
She pulled the wardrobe door open and tossed her cloak inside. Slowly, the other Animals began doing the same, walking towards the wardrobes around the room and undoing their cloaks. All of them wore similar clothes; the chicken wore a fitting yet loose long pink garment that would look out of place among any modern crowd and the boys all wore some kind of suit. None of them were quite tuxedos, but they were old suits and they had _bowties_ on them.  
  
_They_ are _weirdoes._  
  
He glanced at the nearest wardrobe (it was the blue rabbit's, he dimly noticed) and caught sight of what looked like a pair of jeans. _Oh, they_ do _have better clothes. Why wear those old things, then? Weirdoes!_  
  
The tall golden rabbit heaved a sigh and turned around, crossing his arms. He didn’t look angry or even dangerous, now that Goldie could see him; he was tall, but he was thin and looked like he had lost a fight with a lawn mower at some point in his life, with a jagged scar across his face and missing half of his right ear.  
  
“Look,” he spoke, and as he did Goldie noticed he had incredibly sharp, long canines. _Weird, rabbits don’t have canines…_ “We have no intention in hurting you, so… will you… please stop crying...?”  
  
“Oh yeah, like that’s gonna work,” the blue rabbit snorted, walking away from his wardrobe and messing with his cuffs. “You used to be so good with kids, Spring.”  
  
“Yes, well, when you haven’t interacted with one in a few ce… seasons, you tend to lose that ability, Blu," the rabbit, Spring, deadpanned.  
  
“I bet Chii hasn’t,” Blu shot right back.  
  
The chicken, Chii Goldie assumed, rolled her eyes. “Come on, guys, do you think they’d trust any of us?” she asked. “The best thing we can do is leave them to their own devices.”  
  
“I am _not_ letting a bunch of kids run around our house without supervision,” Mangle immediately spoke up, frowning. “Do you realize how much dangerous crap we have here?”  
  
“All of those doors are locked,” Chii pointed out.  
  
“Yeah, we thought our bedroom was locked, too, but it wasn’t.”  
  
“Ah- that’s actually my fault,” Spring spoke up sheepishly, raising a thin, scarred hand. “You know, I have this thing about actually _using_ the doors…”  
  
“Oh geez, Spring, this is your fault,” Mangle sighed, letting her head smack against the wood of her wardrobe. By this time Bonnie had long since quieted, watching the strange scene in front of them in wide-eyed confusion. Apparently even his fear had fled too as they realized that the group in front of them wasn't scary. They were just a bunch of weirdoes.  
  
“Sorry…”  
  
A flash of lightning filled the room, followed immediately by the loudest crack of thunder Goldie was sure he had ever heard in his entire life. All three rabbits in the room immediately clapped their hands over their ears and the foxes didn't fair much better.  
  
“Oh god dammit!” the blue rabbit immediately cursed, apparently not mindful of the children nearby. “That one hurt!”  
  
“Stop shouting, oh my goodness gracious, Blu, I know!” Spring seethed, stalking over to the windows and yanking the curtains closed again. It did nothing to drown out the sound but it _did_ block the lightning and sheet of rain from sight. As soon as the light was gone, though, the candles on the walls lit up. Everything looked much eerier in the flickering firelight.  
  
“Why don’t you just turn the lights on?” Foxy questioned, glaring in irritation at the sconces.  
  
“This house was built in the late nineteenth century,” the bear informed the child. “And it was never updated to modern standards. It has no electricity.”  
  
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Chica asked, though she sounded more curious than irritated. The five Animals paused and exchanged a glance. Goldie was irritated to see amusement flash through their eyes. Obviously they knew something the children didn’t.  
  
“Not at all,” Chii chirped, and Goldie knew for a fact chickens didn’t have _fangs_. He was starting to wonder if they had walked into a weird horror movie. “But we’re used to it. You know, you should probably move away from the door, we have chores to do.”  
  
“Screw your chores, I’m taking a bath,” Mangle immediately piped up, pulling a violet dress out of her wardrobe and closing it. “All day sleeping and I haven’t had a chance to even brush my fur yet!”  
  
“Or have your coffee,” Blu added unimpressed, watching the vixen turn towards the children. “Don’t approach them, Mangle, just use the other exit.”  
  
“Other exit?” Goldie and Freddy chorused, confused.  
  
“It’s a secret~” Blu sang before hopping away into the shadows. There was no sound of a door opening or closing but the rabbit was gone just the same.  
  
“Hey,” Chii started, her voice gentle and sweet as she knelt down so she wasn’t towering over them. She looked much less intimidating this way, the children noted. “Can you guys please move for a moment? I need to go downstairs to the kitchen and Blu’s being an idiot right now.”  
  
The children stared at her before, wordlessly, Freddy pulled Bonnie to his feet and they all shuffled aside. She smiled happily and stood up again, twisting the lock out of place and opening the door again. She slipped outside into the candlelit hallways and was gone.  
  
“Thank you,” Mangle sighed, following her fellow female out the door.  
  
“Kitchen?” Chica whispered to her friends.  
  
“Yes, kitchen,” the adult bear answered instead, wandering towards the door. “A house this large, you don’t think we don’t have a kitchen, do you? Chii enjoys baking and tea.”  
  
“You say that as if you don’t, Alfred,” Spring chuckled, following the bear out the door. “Especially the tea part.”  
  
“Hey, it’s not my fault it’s the best leisure drink.”  
  
“I beg to differ…” the voices faded down the hall, leaving the five children in the silence of the large bedroom. They just stood there, staring at the open door and listening to the rain pounding down on the roof and slamming against the windowpane. Slowly, they all looked at each other. No trace of terror remained except for Bonnie’s tear-matted fur.  
  
“They’re weird,” all five of them voiced at the same time and then they broke down into a fit of giggles. It certainly lifted any tenseness they still held.  
  
“We were tricked by a bunch of weirdoes!” Foxy squealed, dropping down to the floor in a peal of laughter. Soon, though, the laughter tapered off into a strange companionable silence.  
  
“I wonder how they did it?” Chica pondered, looking up towards the sconce above them. “That’s real fire.”  
  
“Who knows,” Goldie shrugged, leaning over to peek down the hall. It was empty, but voices echoed through the halls. It was like a normal dysfunctional family. “They’re really weird. I like them.”  
  
“You like them?” Freddy guffawed, staring disbelievingly at his brother. “They just scared us all and made Bonnie cry and you _like_ them.”  
  
“They didn’t mean to make him cry and I think they feel bad,” Goldie stated matter-of-factly. “They were fighting about what just happened, anyway.”  
  
“I wanna know more about them!” Foxy declared, sitting up.  
  
“Me too,” Chica agreed.  
  
“I wanna go home,” Bonnie whined, scrubbing at his tear-stained face. “That was em-embarrassing!” he stumbled over the word; it was a new word in their vocabulary and he wasn't quite used to it yet. It felt weird on his tongue.  
  
“Well, three beats two,” Goldie retorted immediately, slipping out the door. “Besides,” he called over his shoulder, “It’s raining really hard and there’s lightning. Do you really wanna walk home in that?”  
  
“No,” Bonnie mumbled, shuffling his feet before following Goldie. At least he was acknowledged this time.  
  
The five children made their way back to the first floor, finding themselves in the lit foyer at the foot of the grand staircase. The shadows still made Bonnie uneasy, as did the black curtains, but knowing that it was just a bunch of weirdoes living there made it less creepy. The hallway beneath the landing was now lit as well and the voices carried through there, so that was where they went. When they came to the other side of the hall, they found themselves in a sitting room.  
  
It was cozy. There was a round carpet on the wooden floor, two couches tucked on either side of the hall’s archway, and two chairs tucked into corners of the room, covered by blankets and evidently unused. A small coffee table innocently sat in the middle of the room, its dark wood standing out against the off-white carpet.  
  
To the left of the sitting room was a closed door, but to the right of the room was an archway into a kitchen. That was where four out of five of the Animals were located.  
  
Cautiously, they approached the archway and looked inside. The two rabbits, bear, and chicken were inside and it looked like they were all working together to make something. The blue rabbit was bouncing happily in his place as he stirred the contents of a bowl, talking excitedly about something that happened “last night,” though none of the children quite understood it, and the other three looked to be a mixture of amused and disgusted.  
  
When Blu’s eyes caught sight of the curious children, though, his mouth snapped shut, cutting off whatever he had been talking about. Spring looked over at him, confused, and then followed his gaze. “Oh… they followed us,” he commented, blinking owlishly.  
  
“What are you guys making?” Chica demanded, putting her hands on her hips as though _she_ was the family matriarch. Bonnie was sure to the four adults in the room it probably looked humorous, if not downright adorable.  
  
By the amused smiles exchanged between the two rabbits, he was right.  
  
“We’re making breakfast!” Chii stated happily.  
  
“Breakfast? But it’s not morning,” Foxy protested with a frown.  
  
“We sleep during the day, so it is for us,” Blu hummed happily, pausing as he looked in his bowl. He began stirring it more stubbornly. “Come on!”  
  
“This many years and you still don’t know how to treat batter,” Alfred sighed dramatically, swiftly taking the bowl from the blue rabbit’s hands. “You, chop the strawberries.”  
  
“Aww, but I wanted to stir the batter,” Blu whined but went to do as he was told, grabbing a knife out of the rack.  
  
“Strawberries and batter?” Chica tilted her head slightly. “Are you making strawberry pancakes?”  
  
“Yep!” Chii and Spring chorused, exchanging sharp-fanged grins as they did so. It sent a wave of unease through Bonnie before he realized that it had simply been a sign of amusement between them, not hostility. “It’s summer, after all; strawberries are in season and we have a patch in our backyard,” Chii expanded. Before she could say much else, a sharp yelp interrupted, causing them to jump.  
  
They all looked over at the blue rabbit pulling his hand away from the knife; he had, evidently, gotten his finger in the way while distracted and deep crimson slowly dripped from the slice.  
  
Bonnie didn’t say as much but he was _pretty_ sure it was much too dark to be blood. However, there was nothing else it _could_ be, which meant that the rabbit was hurt. “Are you okay?” he asked innocently, worriedly. Even if these weirdoes had terrified him, he didn’t want them to be hurt...  
  
“I’m fine, fine,” Blu answered with an uneasy laugh, stepping further away from the children as he wrapped his uninjured hand around his finger. Bonnie wondered why he did this- they hadn’t been the ones who hurt him, after all. His laugh sounded fake, too, forced and when Freddy, being the protective and helpful child he was, stepped towards the rabbit to offer as much help as an eight year old could, all of the adults moved faster than any of the children thought possible as Blu cried, “Don’t!”


	3. Introduction: Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final introduction chapter!

The children froze, startled at the shout and how the other three now stood between Blu and them. Blu turned swiftly and picked the bloody knife off of the counter and slipped out of the room; none of the children asked where he was going, choosing instead to stare at the other adults.  
  
Spring let out a nervous, obviously fake laugh. “Blu will be fine,” he told the children, grabbing a rag to clean up the blood that had dripped onto the counter and floor. Chii and Alfred still stood between them. “At least none of it got on the strawberries,” he muttered, glancing at Alfred and Chii.  
  
“Who wants tea?” Chii suddenly asked, putting on a large smile. Bonnie’s gaze immediately went to her long fangs; were those fake? He was starting to think not. “And cookies? I’m sure we have some in the ice box.”  
  
The children weren’t sure what to say, but they nodded in agreement. The chicken turned and strode towards the fridge- icebox, as she had called it, and _how the heck did it keep foods fresh without electricity?_ \- and opened it, pulling out a plate of cookies and a pitcher of tea. The children exchanged glances, unsure if they should actually accept the treat, but really, it wasn’t like the weirdoes had been expecting them or anything…  
  
“Go to the dining room and choose a seat, we don’t eat in the kitchen,” Chii shooed them, walking towards the door set into the wall from the kitchen. She lightly pushed it open with her foot and waited for the children to nervously shuffle through.  
  
Goldie looked back at them, watching as the chicken and bear exchanged frowns. They were clearly not any happier about this than the children were. Goldie followed his brother and friends in and climbed up onto a chair. There was a large chandelier hanging above a long table and the wall was covered in thick black curtains. They could hear the rain slamming into the wood on the other side of the glass.  
  
“Why is this place so creepy?” Chica deadpanned, staring at Chii as she set the cookies and tea down. Chii blinked her blue eyes owlishly, as if trying to figure out what she meant. “It looks abandoned.”  
  
“Oh. That’s to keep people away,” Chii explained quite happily, giving them a strained smile because obviously it hadn't worked. “By the way- when you leave here, you cannot tell anyone about us, alright?  
  
Bonnie frowned and looked at his friends. He could tell by their expressions that it was just as suspicious to them as it was to him. “Why not?” Foxy asked.  
  
“Because then more people will come into our home and we really don’t like scaring people,” Chii told them, smoothing the skirt of her dress. “It really isn’t fun, but it’s better than what will happen if we’re found out, okay? So when you go home and your parents ask where you’ve been, don’t tell them you were here.”  
  
“Oh we weren’t gonna anyway,” Goldie snorted, snagging a cookie and ignoring Freddy’s hiss. “Mom and dad would flay us!”  
  
“Well you know, they’re probably worried sick about you right now,” Chii told him with a frown. “It’s late, dark, and storming and none of you are home.”  
  
The children exchanged unhappy glances. “Yeah…”  
  
“The nightmares we’re gonna have are gonna make them even unhappier,” Chica stated matter-of-factly. The others nodded sagely.  
  
“Sorry about that…” Chii looked properly sheepish. “We didn’t, um, mean for that to happen, but Mangle had already… it, um, don’t worry about it, though. None of those things were real, I promise.”  
  
“Oh yeah, because we trust you.”  
  
Chii just smiled at them. Something about it unnerved Bonnie but the others didn’t seem bothered. “Of course.” She clearly knew it was sarcasm; Bonnie realized she was saying of course they _didn’t_ trust her. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish cooking breakfast.” She turned around and went to the door, slipping through it and back into the kitchen.  
  
Immediately Freddy turned to Goldie. “Are you crazy? Those could be killer cookies!”  
  
“They got it out of the fridge, it was made before we even got here,” Goldie shot back. “They’re really good, too. Peanut butter.”  
  
The others exchanged a glance before reaching out to take a cookie. Freddy didn’t join in. Chica hesitantly took a bite of it and immediately perked up.  
  
“These are better than Mama’s!” she immediately declared. “Come on, Freddy, try it!”  
  
A crack of thunder shook the house again, causing them all to pause. Bonnie stared up at the chandelier, wondering what would happen if it fell. The thought made him shudder, but the chandelier only shook and didn’t fall.  
  
“I wanna be home right now,” Foxy finally muttered, sinking down in his seat and hugging his arms to himself. “Storms are less scary when I’m in bed.”  
  
_“Chii, did you really give kids cookies? It’s probably not even their dinner time!”_  
  
_“Blu accidentally cut himself, I had to do something to distract them.”_  
  
Bonnie’s ears perked and he looked over towards the door. It was just barely cracked open and the two females’ voices filtered through.  
  
_“Well you could have at least given them milk to go with it.”_  
  
_“We don’t have milk, we used it for the pancakes.”_  
  
_“The Academy sent us our paycheck last Friday, Chii, all you had to do was ask me to go to the store and get some.”_  
  
Academy? Bonnie tilted his head curiously.  
  
_“If you want to go out in this storm, be my guest, Mangle, but you just took a bath.”_  
  
_“I’m not going out right now! I’ll do it later, when the heavens aren’t trying to drown our house.”_  
  
_“Are you ladies done bickering?”_ one of the others, Bonnie believed it was Spring as it was gentler than the others’, interrupted the argument. _“We need to finish the pancakes if we want to eat by midnight.”_  
  
_“Remind me again why we’re eating? We’re going out tomorrow night anyway and it’s not like it does anything for us.”_  
  
_“Because we like food, Mangle.”_ The voices faded away to a point where Bonnie could no longer pick up on their words.  
  
That… was a weird conversation. He turned back around and looked at his friends with a frown. Foxy was turned towards the door as well with perked ears and a frown, but the bear brothers and Chica seemed blissfully unaware of the exchange. As such, he looked questioningly at Foxy who just shrugged in response.  
  
“I guess we’re stuck here until the storm ends,” Freddy finally said with a sigh, casting his gaze to the thick curtains. They couldn’t even see the flashes of lightning through them.  
  
“Looks like it, so we should make the best of it,” Goldie agreed, slipping out of his seat. “You notice she set the pitcher down but no glasses?”  
  
The children giggled a bit at that. “How silly.”  
  
“They’re probably not used to guests,” Bonnie pointed out after several moments of giggling. He slipped out of his seat as well. “I wonder if they’ll let us look around…”  
  
The other four looked at Bonnie in shock. “ _You_ want to look around?” Foxy asked, flabbergasted.  
  
“Well, why not? They haven’t hurt us yet…”  
  
“Yeah, only scared us half to death,” Freddy scoffed, casting his eyes towards the door. “And who knows what they’re planning? They’re strangers!”  
  
“They seem nice,” Bonnie said, though honestly he was more curious about _what_ they were than _who_ they were. Something was definitely off here. “Besides, we did come in without per- permmmission.”  
  
Before anyone could say more, the door creaked open quietly and the blue rabbit peeked in at them. They watched silently as his eyes scanned the room and he pouted.  
  
“Aw, don’t you like the cookies?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” Chica answered, crossing her arms. “But we have nothin' to drink with it.”  
  
The rabbit furrowed his brow in confusion, looking at the glass pitcher, and then he seemed to realize what was missing. “Oh! Un momento por favor~!” he called, slipping back into the kitchen. The children exchanged glances, four of them confused. Chica just snorted.  
  
After a minute or so there was a crash from the kitchen and a surprised squeal, but then Blu skipped happily through the door, five glasses balanced in his arms. “I don’t know why they keep the glasses way up there where only Spring and Alfred can reach them,” he laughed and the children looked at each other. So that had been the crash; the rabbit had climbed the cupboards.  
  
The rabbit set the glasses on the table. “Is your name really Blu?” Goldie asked suddenly. The rabbit looked at him, emerald eyes blinking in confusion.  
  
“Uh, yeah?” he shrugged. “Might as well be, anyway. Everyone’s always called me Blu!” he added with a laugh, turning his gaze back to the pitcher and picking it up to pour into the glasses. “Thinking about it now… never mind,” he laughed, waving a hand dismissively as he glanced at the ceiling. “Yeah, my name’s Blu.” He paused and looked at the children, as if just realizing something. “Oh, we never asked about your names! We’ve just been calling you “kids” this whole time but I bet that gets annoying, huh?”  
  
“Yes,” Chica deadpanned while Goldie and Foxy nodded.  
  
Freddy hesitated. “I don’t feel safe giving you my name,” he finally said.  
  
“Can’t say I blame you,” Blu laughed, handing each child a cup of sweet, cold tea. “Do any of ya want ice? I can get ya some!”  
  
Bonnie wasn’t sure his eight year old mind could comprehend this. When he first saw the rabbit, he had been snarling, but then he had been happy and bouncy, but _then_ he had been alarmed when Freddy tried to approach him when he’d been cut, and now he was… bouncy again? It made his head spin and he frowned up at the taller rabbit.  
  
“Are you alright, mister?” he asked again. Blu blinked and looked at him, evidently confused.  
  
“What…? Oh, you mean this?” He lifted up his left hand, where a bandage covered his wound. “Yeah, I’m okay!”  
  
“I wasn’t talking about that,” Bonnie stated flatly. This just seemed to confuse the blue rabbit more.  
  
“I assure ya, little rabbit, I’m perfectly fine!” Blu laughed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been banned from the kitchen- I may have just accidentally knocked Alfred’s antique china onto the floor… Well, seeya!” The rabbit was gone before any of them could protest.  
  
Not that they were going to.  
  
“He’s weirder than the others,” Goldie decided after several seconds of silence.  
  
“Yes,” the others agreed as they sipped at the tea.  
  
It was pretty good for cold, iceless tea.  
  
They sat in silence, listening to the thunder and after a while voices approached the dining room. The Animals slipped in, Chii holding a platter of pancakes and Blu sheepishly holding a stack of glass plates.  
  
“You kids want some?” Chii asked as she set the platter on the table. “I made enough!”  
  
The children exchanged glances again and then looked at the pancakes. They looked fluffy and had chunks of strawberry in them. Spring set a bottle of maple syrup on the table. “Okay,” Goldie agreed with a shrug. “Your cookies are really good, ma’am.”  
  
Chii tittered softly and smiled, nudging Blu to set the table. “Ma’am? Ha, I think I’m hardly old enough for that nonsense,” she declared. Apparently there was a joke in that as her friends began laughing.  
  
Bonnie and his friends didn’t get the joke.  
  
“Yeah, it’s not like you’re a day over nineteen,” Blu snorted, quickly setting out the plates and stepping aside as Alfred laid out the forks.  
  
“Says the person literally not a day over eighteen,” Chii shot back with an amused smile. She began dishing out pancakes.  
  
Blu pouted in mock-hurt. “Ouch, Chii, that hit me right in the heart,” he said sarcastically as the others laughed. However, there was something subdued about the laughter, as if they were all remembering something they would rather, well, _not_ remember.  
  
Bonnie was the only one who noticed.  
  
“So you guys aren’t adults?” Freddy questioned, furrowing his brow.  
  
“Oh no, we’re adults,” Spring told him with a laugh. “Mangle and Alfred are both nineteen, the rest of us are eighteen.”  
  
“That’s just barely an adult.”  
  
“You know, for kids you guys sure have a large vocabulary,” Mangle laughed, dropping down in her seat. She seemed to be in a much better mood now that she had had her bath and, supposedly, her coffee. “What are they teaching kids in schools these days?” she added to her friends, who all gave her matching wry grins. Something else seemed to pass between them.  
  
“We’re just smart,” Chica declared with a huff. The adults chuckled as they all took their seats and began eating. Chica blinked and looked at her friends, confused, before looking at the five Animals again. “Aren’t you guys gonna say grace?”  
  
They paused and looked at the children, then back to each other uneasily. Several seconds passed; it looked like they were speaking to one another silently.  _Maybe they are._ “Uh…” Spring trailed, as if looking for the words as he turned to look at the five children. “We’re not… uh… believers,” he finally managed, wincing slightly as he did. Apparently he was expecting the children to make some comment about it and Bonnie knew that if his parents were there they _would_ have made some comment about it.  
  
Probably call them devil worshipers who were brainwashing their children.  
  
Instead, though, Foxy asked, “So we can just start eating? We don’t gotta say thanks?”  
  
“Well, you should probably thank Chii for cooking, but no need to say grace if you don’t want to…” the rabbit trailed off.  
  
“Cool!” Foxy cheered happily. “Thanks, Ms. Chii!” he added before digging into the pancakes. The others were a little more hesitant but followed suit.  
  
Goldie wasn’t sure if it was polite to say grace in a non-believer’s house, so he didn’t. To be honest he still didn’t know what to think of his parents’ beliefs himself- he was sure he’d understand them better when he was an adult himself. Right then, all of the questions he had for his parents tended to go unanswered or answered with a simple "you'll understand one day."  
  
Either way, he _did_ notice when the adults relaxed and resumed eating.  
  
Breakfast (dinner?) wasn’t really a quiet affair, as less than a minute in Mangle accused Blu of doing something, which then prompted the rabbit to throw a chunk of strawberry at his friend, which somehow ended up hitting Alfred who immediately got agitated and threw it back, smacking him in the forehead with it and leaving a clear red, syrupy mark on his blue fur. This, of course, broke whatever silence had been held over them.  
  
Bonnie couldn’t help but think as he watched the adults’ friendly bickering that they were more childish than him and his friends were. And he was only eight.  
  
After they had finished eating, Mangle and Spring gathered the dishes and went into the kitchen while Chii began wiping the table down, removing any syrup that got on the table during the miniature food fight.  
  
The storm seemed to have calmed, but they could still hear rain against the wall outside and thunder still rumbled in the distance. They were still stuck there.  
  
“Chica,” Chica finally stated, staring at Blu. Blu, who had been trying to scrub the strawberry juice and syrup out of his fur, blinked and looked over at her, confused. “I go by Chica. So stop calling me “kid.””  
  
It took another moment for Blu to finally understand. “Oh! Well, nice t’meet’cha, Chica!”  
  
“A bit slow on the uptake,” Chii giggled and Blu pouted at her.  
  
“Don’t be mean,” he whined to her, earning a slap to the shoulder. “Hey, I just said don’t be mean…!”

The children giggled. Those two were like a brother and sister. Actually, Bonnie mused as he watched them bicker and laugh, they _all_ acted like siblings. They must have known each other for a long time. _Like me and the others. I wonder if that’s how we’ll be when we're grown._  
  
“So who wants to play games until the storm’s over or you guys and gal fall asleep?” Chii suggested suddenly, turning to look at the children. Her smile seemed more natural this time. “It’s almost ten o’clock but I kinda doubt you wanna sleep in our house.”  
  
It was true. Besides, none of them felt sleepy. So they all, even Freddy, nodded excitedly; games sounded good.  
  
“I’ll go see what we have,” Alfred chuckled, standing up and heading out of the door connecting the dining room to the sitting room.  
  
“Let’s go out into the living room,” Chii suggested. “That way there’s more space.”  
  
She followed Alfred through the door and Blu hummed happily. “Chii, Mangle, Spring and I collect a lot of games,” he told them, heading towards the door still rubbing his forehead. “Alfred doesn’t play much, he prefers reading, but when he does play he kicks all of our a- butts,” he fumbled, holding the door open for the five children to shuffle through. “And he has a blast doing it too, the cheeky devil.”  
  
“Who enjoys what?” Alfred questioned as he returned with a handful of boardgames, which he set on the table in the center of the room.  
  
“Ah, it’s nothin’, Al,” Blu claimed innocently, dropping down onto the floor next to the table.  
  
“You know there are couches for a reason, right?”  
  
“Yeah.” Alfred and Blu stared silently at each other for several seconds before Alfred sighed and shook his head. Blu grinned.  
  
“Do all of you share a bedroom?” Freddy suddenly asked, frowning. “There were five beds in that one room.”  
  
Chii, Alfred, and Blu frowned a bit and glanced at each other. “We all have our own private qu-rooms,” Chii started slowly.  
  
“But we also prefer being with each other,” Blu continued, leaning back on his hands and sitting cross-legged. It looked funny, considering the fact that he was wearing a suit straight from prehistory as far as the children were concerned. “It’s nice to not be alone, even as we sleep.”  
  
“But it’s just as nice to sometimes be alone and keep individual knick-knacks and hobby items in our own rooms,” Alfred finished with a shrug. “Some nights we like being together, some nights we like being alone.”  
  
Bonnie was sure he was missing something. “But why do you share a room with girls?” he questioned curiously, tilting his head. Blu and Alfred blinked, looking at each other.  
  
“Is there something wrong with sharing a room with your sister?” Blu asked, confused, as he looked back at the children. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he didn't understand the concept of brothers and sisters sleeping in separate rooms.  
  
“Sister? You guys don’t look anything alike,” Chica snorted, crossing her arms. That was an understatement; only two of them were the same species and even then it looked like they were two different breeds of rabbit, anyway.  
  
“Blood doesn’t make family,” Chii said, pulling one of the chairs from the corner and sitting in it. “We’ve all known each other our entire lives, we grew up in the same home and were raised by the same people and we’re as close as anyone can platonically be.” They didn’t understand that word, “platonically.” It was much too big for them. “Because of that we’re family.”  
  
“Does that make us family?” Foxy questioned, looking at his friends.  
  
“Well, if you want to think of each other as family, then yeah,” Blu laughed. “But you guys are still just children, who knows how you’ll all feel about each other in the future. All of you have different parents, right?”  
  
“Not us,” Freddy and Goldie chorused. “We’re twins,” they added, still perfectly in sync. “I’m older, though,” Goldie added with a grin. Freddy huffed.  
  
“By twenty minutes.”  
  
“Twenty- _three_.”  
  
Chii giggled. “How cute,” she murmured to herself but Bonnie still caught it. “By the way, I’m not sure we ever properly introduced ourselves,” she said louder, “But I’m Chii and these are my friends Alfred and Blu. Mangle is the white vixen and Spring is the golden rabbit.”  
  
“We know,” Foxy declared proudly. “We’re smart like that.”  
  
“We’ve been hearing you guys call each others’ names since, well, earlier,” Goldie pointed out. “Oh! Oh! My friends call me Goldie!” he added suddenly with a grin. Freddy elbowed him. “What? It’s not like I gave them my real name!”  
  
Chii and Blu exchanged amused glances at the children's antics. They seemed to be relaxing, letting Alfred set up whatever boardgame he chose for them to play first.  
  
“Well, I’m just Foxy,” Foxy told the adults with a wide grin. “I don’t like my real name so you get no more from me!”  
  
Freddy sighed dramatically and cast his eyes heavenwards. “If we get kidnapped I blame you guys,” he said accusingly to his friends, earning laughs from the young adults. “I don’t have a nickname.”  
  
“His name’s Freddy,” Goldie put in helpfully, yelping lightly as Freddy elbowed him again.  
  
“Heh, your name sounds really close to Alfred’s,” Blu noted with a laugh. Alfred rolled his eyes.  
  
“If it makes you feel better, Freddy, I don’t have a nickname either,” Alfred told the bear, slightly amused. “Neither Spring nor I.”  
  
“Spring’s his real name?” Goldie asked, surprised.  
  
“Yes.”

"Oh... well... that's... nice?"  
  
Blu snorted. “Convincing,” he said. “I used to call him Easter Bunny. Frustrated him to no end.”  
  
“Yes, I clearly remember that day he nearly tackled you out the window,” Alfred sighed, rolling his eyes. “Luckily for both of you Chii, Mangle, and I were there to save your tails.”  
  
Chii hummed a bit, though it sounded more like a “shut up right now” hum than a “good memories” hum. Apparently that was _exactly_ what it was, as whatever Blu was about to say was cut short and the rabbit shut his mouth obediently. Satisfied, Chii turned to Bonnie and smiled at him. “And what about you?” she asked. “You have a nickname, too?”  
  
Nervously, Bonnie shook his head and then said, “My name’s Bonnie, though…” Honestly, he expected a laugh or something. _Bonnie? Isn’t that a girl’s name? Are you a girl?_ He’d heard it before from schoolmates. In fact, that was how he’d met Foxy and the bear brothers; some classmates had been making fun of his name and they had swooped in to save the day.  
  
However, none of the adults laughed. Instead, Blu said, “That’s a nice name, Bonnie! Sounds kinda familiar… huh...”  
  
“Well I should hope it’s familiar, _Bonito_ ,” Chii giggled, looking at her blue friend. “Yours sounds really similar.  
  
“Bonito?” Freddy questioned, brow scrunching.  
  
“That’s Blu’s real name,” Alfred informed the little brown bear.  
  
“Oh yeah,” Blu mumbled, so softly that Bonnie _almost_ didn’t catch it. Then the blue rabbit grinned at the children. “Caught me, my name’s Bonito~! But I much prefer Blu, really.”  
  
“Blu is better,” Foxy agreed in the most serious "wise" voice an eight-year-old could muster, causing the others to laugh.  
  
“Are we gonna play games or what?” Alfred asked, smiling slightly. “I have a feeling the rain won’t stop for a while.”  
  
The children eagerly agreed and chose their pawns, happy to play the game with the three childish adults and just as happy to let the other two join when they had finished their chores. The rest of the night passed this way until they had fallen asleep around midnight, worn out by a mixture of the fun and the late night up.  
  
When they woke up the next morning, they were all in Bonnie’s bedroom, confused about how they got there. All of them were sure of only one thing; that night had _not_ been a dream, and their parents’ relieved-but-angry reactions to finding them in that room only proved it. And even though they never went back to that mansion on Lakeview Road, they often found themselves talking about the night they became friends with the people “haunting” the old house.  
  
However, time has a way of playing tricks on the mind, turning fond memories into dim memories, and dim memories into barely-remembered dreams. They stopped talking about the mansion and that one stormy night by middle school, and by highschool it was nothing more than a distant memory. One day came to pass when Bonnie, who had grown up and matured so much you would hardly recognize the tall, cocky junior as that little frightened rabbit who had cried at the sight of five friendly Animals, brought up “that game we played when we were eight.” It was the first time in years that they had spoken about it and each agreed that it had been a fun game; who knew a child’s imagination could be so strong and vivid and seem so _real_?  
  
Only one of them was confused. Only one of them said that it _hadn’t_ been a game and earned strange looks from his friends. Only one of them still believed, wholeheartedly, that what they had all experienced that night had been no game. That the shadows, the flickering lights, the pancakes and cookies and tea and games, the adult friends who led them to one day realize that they were a family with no blood relation- that all of it had been real. He was unable to convince his friends, however; everything that night had defied any sense of logic and that was only what they could _remember_.  
  
But Goldie remembered more than they did. He remembered not just the faces of the monstrosities or of the five “weirdoes,” but he could also remember the taste of the pancakes, pancakes that had definitely been pancakes but so much better than anything he could have ever dreamed. He could remember the feeling of sweet cold tea on his tongue, the alarmed expression of four adults as they separated the children from a bleeding blue rabbit, the feeling of soft fur patting his head as he finally fell asleep. He could remember all of the games they played and how the adults let them win every time, how many rules they broke playing four and six player games with ten players. He could also remember the fear they felt that night, fear unlike anything else he had ever experienced before or since. He could remember every little detail of that night… he could even remember the unnatural sharpness of their teeth.  
  
The others wouldn’t hear of it, though, and eventually highschool ended and university began. A mixture of stress and resignation finally quieted Goldie’s protests and they never spoke of it again.  
  
At least, they weren’t _supposed_ to speak of it again. That had been the unspoken agreement; that night was just a fourteen-year-old memory, never to be brought back to the table, and they would focus on their own family, their own futures, and their education. It was to never be brought up again.  
  
But then came the summer after they turned twenty-two.


	4. Too Familiar

The blue rabbit stretched his arms above his head and stared through the darkness at the ceiling for several silent moments. Beside him he could hear the soft, peaceful breathing of his one-night partner, sleeping the night away. Slowly, he sat up and looked over at the lonely, curious woman who had shared her bed with him.  
  
She was pretty by many standards. Not gorgeous, not sexy, but pretty. She was a petite, dark-furred mouse with narrow hips, thin waist, and long legs. She was pretty and she wasn’t looking for anything serious; she just wanted a night to satisfy her fantasy. The fur on the side of her neck, faintly stained red, was the only evidence of her fantasy- the only hint to what kind of place she had gone to seek it out and what kind of monster she had let into her home.  
  
His tongue flicked across his fangs as, silently and without waking the mouse, he slipped out of the bed and grabbed his clothes. No, he mused wryly to himself as he dressed in the darkness of the early morning, he probably wouldn’t have looked twice at the girl had he not been… hungry. She wasn’t exactly his type, after all. Too small, too thin, too fragile, too… well, too female.   
  
However, it was always better to go for someone he knew wouldn’t try to bite back- someone who even he could keep control over. It made things less… messy. Less… _lethal_.  
  
Fastening his cloak back into place, he considered just stepping through the closet to go home, but it was such a nice night out… he closed his eyes, remembering the sight of the moon high above, the stars twinkling as they watched him from however far away they were… _Yeah, I think I’ll walk home tonight._  
  
With that decided, he turned to the door and slipped out of her bedroom. He didn’t leave a note- she had already known he’d be gone by morning, he had told her when she first suggested it- but he did make sure the front door was locked as he stepped into the night. It was early morning- barely past five if he had to guess, nearly an hour before sunrise.  
  
“I guess that was fun,” he mumbled to himself as he turned away and walked down the front path, pulling his hood up over his fur. He didn’t want to ruin her reputation with her neighbors, after all, and a black cloak was much harder to spot than bright blue fur. “Tasty, though,” he added with a small grin. “And easy.”  
  
Lakeview Road was on the opposite side of the city. It would be at least a forty minute walk, meaning he might have to finish the trip through the shadows, but it would be nice to just stroll through the moonlit streets. He headed towards the downtown portion of the city that was close to the mouse’s home. _A walk by the river doesn’t sound too bad either._  
  
A sigh escaped his lips; the June air was warm but not overbearingly hot. It was definitely cooler than the daytime, he knew. He had woken up plenty of times in the middle of the day to kick off his blanket and whine about how damned _hot_ it was and bemoan the fact that none of them had the ability to freeze things because he would _so love to be an ice block right now…_  
  
He hummed happily to himself and skipped a bit on the sidewalk, glancing out towards the water. Oh, at the river already? Cool. Around him some early-morning strollers were giving him strange looks but he paid them no mind. _Ah, it’s so pretty… Mangle would love to paint this scene. Maybe one night I can get her out of the house and down here. Heh, we all could get out of the house for a night without Hunting._  
  
Blu closed his eyes, knowing from experience that people would move aside for him, allowing him to pass with more than a little space to spare. It was something natural, the air around them seeming... off. People always stepped aside for him and his brothers and sisters. Downtown was rather dead at this time of the morning, so as he left the park and entered the old, grid streets the presence of people and their scents faded behind him. As his eyes were closed, though, something flashed through his mind.  
  
It was an image, causing him to pause midstep. It was a purple rabbit, he noted as the image faded away only to be replaced by a spiking headache. He groaned softly and put a hand to his forehead; sometimes he really hated having visions.   
  
“No sense in just standing here,” he muttered, continuing to walk down the sidewalk as he rubbed his temples. He pondered over the vision for a little while.  
  
Purple rabbit? He only knew one purple rabbit, but there was no way that little bunny had grown up into such a cocky-looking adult. _I do wonder how those kids are doing…_ _Ugh, Blu, stop it. It was a single night after you pretty much tormented them._  
  
It had been nice, though, to have real company. To have a “friend” outside of each other, at least for that one night. Even if he had to watch his words around them, it had been nice to be treated somewhat “normal” for once.  
  
After all, a kid who doesn’t believe in vampires wouldn’t know when they faced one.

* * *

_“Blu, you’re dressed... strangely. Where are you going?”_   
  
_“Just downtown to that weird club again. It’s so much easier to Feed there.”_   
  
_“Right… well… you have fun with that. Meanwhile, we’re just gonna Hunt the traditional way, alright?”_   
  
_“Yeah, and hope they don’t die.”_   
  
_“Oh come on, we haven’t accidentally killed anyone since, uh, ‘87 was it?”_   
  
_“We don’t talk about ‘87, Spring.”_   
  
_“Right, sorry, Mangle, sorry.”_   
  
_“Besides, that was almost thirty years ago now, Blu, just drop it already.”_   
  
_“Fine, fine. Just saying, it’s so much easier when your partner is willing.”_   
  
_“... You mean victim.”_   
  
_“Not for me~  Seeya in the morning, guys!”_   
  
_“Be sure to get here before six o’clock, the sun rises around five-fifty.”_   
  
_“I know, I know, I’ll be careful and not get Dusted. Geez, Spring, I’m over two hundred, do you think I’m a novice?”_   
  
_“Sometimes I wonder about you, Blu.”_

* * *

“Oh come on, Goldie, you’re being ridiculous.”  
  
“I’m telling you, it was _real_ ,” the golden bear insisted, frowning as he walked through the store. It was almost three in the morning but he needed to get something now and had, perhaps unwisely, decided to talk to Bonnie about it.  
  
“Goldie, there was nothing there,” the rabbit on the other side of the phoneline huffed. “It was just an empty room.”  
  
“But I _swear_ I saw something!”  
  
“Your mind was playing tricks on you. It wouldn’t be the first time.”  
  
The golden bear grit his teeth, just barely biting back his retort. No, he knew it was real and that was good enough, he told himself. Good enough. Besides… none of them had mentioned _that_ in nearly four and a half years.  
  
“Bonnie, I’m telling you, there was something in there with us.”  
  
“Look, I need to get back to work, Gold. Do yourself a favour and get these crazy ideas out of your head. I thought we got past this.”  
  
“Fine,” Goldie growled before hanging up, not bothering to say goodbye. He silenced his phone and dropped it in his pocket before finally exiting the store, three bags of groceries in hand. He stalked down the road.   
  
The roads were rather empty at this time of night, the only light coming from streetlamps, a few passing cars, and the shops he was passing. He knew that if he stuck to the main road he would reach his apartment in ten minutes, but a cut through an alley could cut that down to three. It wasn’t exactly _safe_ but Goldie wasn’t exactly weak, either. He knew self defense, and if he needed he did have a knife he could use.  
  
With that thought in mind, he crossed the road quickly towards the alley he knew connected the main road to his neighborhood. It was a long alley, admittedly- very long, not very wide, and very dark- but it was quicker than walking all the way down the road and all the way down the side road and all the way down the street again just to end up somewhere he was nearly parallel to already.  
  
He sighed as he stepped into the alley, glancing around. From what he could see, the alley was empty. _Good news for me_ , he mused as he walked further down. The sounds of the streets, the last few stragglers, faded the further into the alley he went. When the last sound faded away, _it_ happened.  
  
 _It_ being that someone suddenly grabbed his shoulders from behind, whirled him around, and shoved his back against the wall, all faster than he could register and react to.  
  
His head collided painfully with the bricks as his groceries fell around him and he let out a groan, opening his bright blue eyes to look at his assailant.  
  
It was a rabbit- a golden rabbit who was nearly a foot shorter than himself, but his grip on the bear was strong. His green eyes were narrowed and his ears were flat, his fangs bared-  
  
Wait. _Fangs_? Goldie’s head was swimming and the image of the rabbit doubled and tripled but- yes, those were fangs. And… an ear cut halfway down… green eyes, gold fur, half-cut ear, fangs, scar across the face-  
  
 _It’s Spring_ , he realized suddenly, eyes widening in shock. It was Spring who was standing in front of him, pinning him against the wall with a strength no rabbit his size should possess, looking as though he were about to attack. _Maybe he is_.  
  
But- no, maybe he was wrong, he thought wildly. It was too familiar- too _same_. Spring would be at _least_ thirty-two by now, he wouldn’t still look like a teenager. It was _impossible_ , there was no _way_ it could be… but… he only knew of two rabbits with fangs like that.  
  
Through his muddled brain, time seemed to have slowed down. What felt like five minutes had been no more than three seconds; his thoughts, shooting rapidly around his mind in those three seconds, decided to make themselves verbal.  
  
“S… Spring…?” he let slip, despite the fact that _there is no way this is Spring, Spring wouldn’t attack me, Spring is twice this age now, Spring isn’t-_  
  
The rabbit paused and Goldie realized he had been about to strike- with _what_ , though? His fangs? Like a _vampire_? His fangs were still bared and his eyes narrowed as he studied Goldie, and Goldie’s heart began to suddenly race; something wasn’t right with this scene.  
  
Several tense, silent seconds passed before the rabbit’s eyes widened- shock and horror flashed through them within the same moment- and his mouth snapped shut, blocking those fangs from view. He jerked back, away from Goldie as though he had been burned, and the sudden loss of leverage sent the dizzy bear tumbling to the ground.  
  
Goldie groaned and pushed himself up onto his knees, looking up at the rabbit- at _Spring_ , he was positive now. From the ground it was so obvious. It was the view he remembered clearly from his childhood; looking up at the rabbit looking down at him. The horrified expression was rather new, though.  
  
Spring slowly backed away from him, hands cradled against his chest. “G-Goldie?” he stammered, staring down at the golden bear with wide, horrified eyes. _I knew it!_  
  
Shoving himself to his feet, Goldie said, “I knew you were real!” Then he remembered _exactly_ what had just happened- the way the rabbit bared his fangs, pinning him against the alley wall. That wasn't an innocent action. “You just attacked me!” he cried, pointing accusingly at Spring. The golden rabbit, however, didn’t seem to plan on sticking around to explain himself. He suddenly whirled around, facing the shadowed wall, and Goldie remembered- just a flash, but he did- a blue rabbit disappearing into the shadows of a darkened room. “Oh no you don’t!”   
  
He leapt at the rabbit, tackling him just as he reached the shadow. With a startled shriek from the rabbit, they both tumbled through the shadows…  
  
And they were at the end of the alley. Goldie, disoriented and still dizzy from the hit on his head, stared out towards the road. It was far enough away that no one would notice him lying face-down in an alley but close enough that he could actually see his apartment complex. And his window.  
  
It took him a moment longer to notice the soft body beneath him, trying to wiggle away. “Get off me!”  
  
He blinked and looked down at the rabbit under him. The rabbit, stomach to the cobbled alley floor, was trying to crawl away. _No_.  
  
“No,” he said aloud, frowning and suddenly grabbing the rabbit’s arms- effectively pinning him to the ground, much to the rabbit’s shock. “No,” he repeated, staring at the rabbit glancing at him over his shoulder. Spring didn’t look _scared_ , per say, but worry was evident in his gaze. “No, dammit, I’ve been waiting fourteen years to get answers about that night and don’t think I’m gonna just let you go after finally seeing you again,” he growled, grip tightening on the rabbit’s arms. The rabbit just barely winced at the pressure- or was it his tone of voice? Goldie wasn’t quite sure.  
  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Spring stuttered. It was obvious he was lying.  
  
“I’m talking about that night everyone tells me was just a game,” he deadpanned, scowling. “Are you real or am I crazy?”  
  
“Uh, maybe both…?”  
  
“I’m not crazy!”  
  
“Then obviously it’s the other one, of course I’m real!” the rabbit groaned, dropping his head against the ground. “Is this really how this is gonna go? Fourteen years ago my friends and I scared you half to death and then gave you cookies, strawberry pancakes, and sweet tea, and then we played games in the living room until all of you fell asleep. That’s all it was!”  
  
“We never saw you again,” Goldie accused, glaring at the rabbit who was no longer looking at him.  
  
“We don’t get out much.”  
  
“You don’t look a day over eighteen. Hell, you don’t look a day over seventeen. But it was _fourteen years ago_.”  
  
“Thanks, I look great for my age,” the rabbit stated flatly, still not looking at him. “Now seriously, get off of me before someone walks past and thinks this is much worse than it actually is.”  
  
Well _that_ hadn’t even crossed Goldie’s mind, but now that the rabbit pointed it out the position did seem very… er…   
  
Goldie frowned. “I want answers, Spring. I’m tired of second-guessing myself and I’m tired of my friends and brother thinking I’m a delusional nutcase.”  
  
Spring was silent for several moments before glancing up at him, frowning slightly. Then he hesitantly said, “If I agree to answer your questions, will you let me go?”  
  
“You have to do more than agree, you have to _actually_ answer them,” Goldie immediately responded, eyeing the golden-furred Animal.   
  
“Not out on the streets, surely,” Spring sighed, his gaze shifting towards the road in front of them. “Anyone could hear anything out here.”  
  
“Well that’s my apartment complex right across the road so it’s your lucky day,” Goldie informed him, sarcasm slipping into his tone. The way the rabbit’s ears twitched told him that he hadn’t been anticipating that. _So he_ was _just trying to get away. Ha, can’t slip past me, old ‘friend.’_  
  
“Fine,” the other groaned, dropping his head against the cobbles again. “I’ll answer your questions but you _have_ to let me go afterwards.”  
  
“I have no plans on kidnapping you,” Goldie snorted, now standing up though he still didn’t release the golden-furred Animal’s arms. He didn’t exactly _trust_ him, really.  
  
“Funny, this _feels_ a lot like kidnapping.”  
  
“Just walk, rabbit, or I will take drastic measures.”  
  
As he marched the rabbit across the street, he considered pulling his phone out and texting Freddy, Chica, Foxy, or even Bonnie about it. However, as he considered it, the purple rabbit’s words flashed through his mind and he scowled, ignoring the person at the counter’s suspicious gaze as he lead Spring up to his apartment on the fourth floor.  
  
 _Fuck them. They don’t believe it was real so why should I tell them about this? If I get killed then that’ll just show them won’t it._

* * *

“Get home and rest, Bon, you look like death warmed over.”  
  
The purple rabbit rolled his eyes. “Aw, Mikey,” he chuckled as he picked his bag up from his work locker. “You know that ain’t true. I’m hardly even tired.”  
  
“It’s five in the morning, if you’re not tired you need to be shot,” the human complained as he straightened his uniform and pulled his cap on. “Why are you always out at night, anyway? You just finished university, you can’t have changed your habits _that_ fast.”  
  
“Au contraire,” Bonnie said, closing the locker. “In university, I did _everything_ at night.”  
  
“Lemme guess, the night before it was due?”  
  
“Hell yeah,” he laughed an agreement and looked at the clock. 5:17. “Well, I’m gonna head out. Jeremy’s manning the front right now, better get in there before Scottie rips us a new one for letting the newbie run the register on his own.”  
  
“It’s five in the damn morning, no one’s gonna come in.”  
  
“Mm, I dunno, I had a few customers around midnight,” Bonnie contradicted, hitching his bag up on his shoulder. “Seeya, Mikey!”  
  
He didn’t hear what the shorter male had to say as he was out of the employee locker rooms before he could respond. With a brief wave to the freckled redhead at the register, he hurried out of the door. It was still almost pitch black, save for the streetlights, and the sidewalk was completely empty.  
  
Taking a deep breath, the purple rabbit closed his eyes. It was early June. He and his best friends- his _family_ \- had just taken their final step into adulthood. At age twenty-two, they had graduated university. Each of them had different degrees but there was one thing that surrounded them; art. Music for Bonnie and the bear twins, graphic for Foxy, and culinary for Chica.  
  
Everything had gone according to plan, but now there was just one question… what now? Sure, he and his friends were all talented and smart, but what exactly did they expect to be able to _do_? Become _teachers_? The thought made him laugh; how many times had he and his friends disobeyed their teachers and parents growing up?  
  
Growing up… that had been an experience for Bonnie. Briefly, a certain stormy night flashed across his memory- flashed just as quick and fleeting as the lightning had been that night. _That’s when things really started changing, I guess…_ He could remember the things he saw in the shadows, how they had frightened him. Now he was more likely to attack those shadows than to run away.  
  
All of them were.  
  
It was seventh grade when Bonnie finally realized he was the tallest out of his friends. It was ninth grade before he realized he was different mentally, too; stronger, harder to upset, quick with a retort. But just the same, he was still Bonnie Henderson and he was still the “brother” of Freddy, Goldie, Chica, and Foxy.  
  
You messed with one of them, you messed with all of them.  
  
It was interesting, really, comparing themselves to their childhood selves. They had grown from the children who would stand up and simply take the punch to the adults who would deflect that punch and give it right back.  
  
Bonnie’s thoughts were cut short when a smaller figure ran straight into him, causing the other to fall onto the ground with an _oomph_. He himself stumbled, more out of surprise than momentum, and opened his eyes to look at the ground where the figure had fallen.  
  
His immediate response was, “Are you okay?” However, as he caught sight of a dark cloak, bright blue fur, long fluffy ears, and sharp fangs his voice trailed off halfway through the final word. He felt frozen as he stared at the familiar rabbit- because yes, that rabbit was _very_ familiar, _too_ familiar- sitting there on the ground, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the concrete sidewalk.  
  
The rabbit on the ground laughed in embarrassment, opening his ( _emerald green_ ) eyes to look up at Bonnie. “Sorry, wasn’t watching where I was going!” he apologized, picking himself up off of the ground. Bonnie just stared with wide red eyes. The blue rabbit gave him a sheepish smile and _he doesn’t recognize me_. “Um? Excuse me? Er… Okay, uh, I’ll just go n-”  
  
“Wait!” Bonnie cut him off before he could stop himself, reaching out and grabbing the rabbit’s shoulder before he could pass. The smaller rabbit tensed under his touch and looked at him, green eyes cautious. “Just- you’re- uh, you’re… real?”  
  
He felt almost stupid for asking that. Confusion slid over the rabbit’s face, his brows scrunching together as he watched Bonnie. “Huh? Er, _yeah_ , no duh I’m real. I literally _just_ ran into you.”  
  
“Blu?” he finally dared, staring at the other. The rabbit’s green eyes widened slightly and his ears flattened, staring at Bonnie for several silent, confused seconds.  
  
“Wh-what?” he questioned, eyes searching. _He really doesn’t recognize me?_ As this thought crossed his mind, the blue rabbit’s eyes lit up with recognition... but he looked anything but happy. “Oh my god,” he uttered, immediately jerking away from him. Bonnie didn’t try to stop him. “B-Bonnie?”  
  
“So you _do_ remember me…” Bonnie watched the blue rabbit inch backwards towards an alley, his wide, startled eyes still on him. “You haven’t changed at all.”  
  
“F-Funny, can’t say the same about you,” Blu laughed nervously though no smile was on his face.  
  
“Well it _has_ been fourteen years, you know. Kids grow up.” He was taking this much better than he should be; Blu hadn’t aged a day from what he could remember. Hell, maybe he hadn’t aged a minute. Did he always look so young? Bonnie remembered him looking older back then. Then again, his memories were a little… fuzzy, to say the least.  
  
“H-has it now? Uh, fancy that, how time flies, I gotta go!” Blu cried, whirling around and darting into the alley. Bonnie didn’t even try to stop him this time, just staring after where he had disappeared.  
  
Several seconds of silence passed before he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He hit Goldie’s speed dial and held it up to his ear. It rang several times before he heard, _“Hey, you’ve reached Frederick Fazbear! Sorry I can’t answer right now, but just leave your info and I’ll get back to ya ASAP!”_ The tone rang.  
  
“Goldie? I think... I have a few apologies to make to you.”


	5. Interrogation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait, I’ve been focusing on Beneath Their Masks... and a few others... and then I spent the last ~20 hours actually drawing. You have no idea how good it feels to draw again, I’m getting my motivation and drive back for it! Heheh, but anyway, back to the scheduled BTM interlude.

_“Oh my god I may have majorly fucked up, guys, like seriously, this isn’t good and where the hell is Spring? I need to talk to him right now and oh my god what have I done?!”_   
  
_“Calm down! Spring’s not home yet, we don’t know where he is-”_   
  
_“The sun rises in twenty minutes, he should be home! Oh god, what if they found him too?”_   
  
_“They? Who, Blu? What happened?”_   
  
_“Those kids, Chii. I ran into one of them- he recognized me and I slipped up and called him by name. They know now, Chii! They know! We need to find Spring- Alfred! Al! Can you connect to Spring?”_   
  
_“Let me check. I can’t promise you anything and it may take a bit.”_   
  
_“Blu, calm down and tell us exactly what happened…”_

* * *

Goldie stared at the rabbit sitting on the couch across from him. The rabbit- _Spring_ \- was fidgeting with his hands, his cloak pulled up to shade his face from view… but it didn’t do any good, considering Goldie already knew exactly who he was. That and it didn’t even cast a shadow dark enough to obscure his features.  
  
At that moment, every light in Goldie’s apartment was on and there were no shadows anywhere near as dark as the ones in the old Lakeview mansion or even in the alleys outside. At least inside his apartment, one would hardly know that it was half past five in the morning. He felt exhausted but at the same time he didn’t want to let the rabbit go because… well, he now had more questions than answers, to be honest.  
  
“So… let me get this straight…” he started, staring at the rabbit as he jumped in surprise. “You acknowledge that there’s something that keeps you young forever, that you were going to attack me until you realized who I am, you had no intention of killing me in the first place, you remember me from fourteen years ago, you’re not just my imagination, you’re _still eighteen_ , and you won’t even tell me what the fuck is going on?”  
  
“I-I can’t!” Spring told him frustratedly, not for the first time either. “It’s not my place to tell, okay?”  
  
He had been repeating the same thing for an hour already. Goldie just stared across at him, his eyes flicking down to those too-sharp fangs that shouldn’t even exist. For some reason he could imagine those fangs plunging into his neck, just like a vampire, and the image sent a shiver up his spine. It wasn’t quite revulsion or fear but it definitely wasn’t a good feeling, that chill.  
  
 _Like a vampire_. That was the second time he had made that comparison. “Are you a vampire?” he finally voiced, catching the green-eyed gaze. Spring just stared at him, silent and surprised. He made no attempt to affirm or deny it and, at least in Goldie’s still-scrambled mind, that was enough to confirm his completely-unrealistic suspicions.  
  
“V… Vampires aren’t real,” Spring finally said, though his voice lacked conviction. “You know,” he suddenly started, tearing his gaze away from Goldie’s, “For some reason I expected the five of you to live together.” It was a diversion. Goldie knew that.  
  
“We plan to,” Goldie informed him, watching him with a frown. “Freddy’s finishing packing up all our crap at home and Chica and Foxy are packing their stuff up too.”  
  
The green eyed rabbit seemed to be scanning around the apartment, a brow raising inquisitively. “You’re all going to live _here_?”  
  
“Not everyone needs a huge-ass scary shadow-filled mansion to appease five people. There’s two bedrooms and two bathrooms, good enough for us,” he huffed, frowning at the rabbit.  
  
Spring glanced over at him, a frown on his own face. “Two bedrooms among five?”  
  
“Says the guy who shares one room with four other people,” Goldie deadpanned, staring unimpressed at him. The rabbit at least had the decency to look sheepish.  
  
“Point... and, uh… the other one?”  
  
“Other what?”  
  
“Your fourth friend. You mentioned the other three…”  
  
Goldie blinked, glancing at the clock on the wall. _5:42_. “Bonnie lives here already, actually. He should be getting home in a few minutes.”  
  
Spring’s eyes widened in shock. “What?! You didn’t mention that when you dragged me here!”  
  
The golden bear gave the equally-golden rabbit a wry smirk. “You didn’t ask if I lived alone, so that’s your bad, not mine. Besides, you’re dead wrong if you think I wasn’t gonna tell them about you.” Of course he would have _eventually_ told them. “Actually, I should probably warn Bonnie…”  
  
As he said that, he pulled his phone out and lit the screen up. The voicemail icon glowed at the top of his screen and he raised a brow at it. “Huh?” Glancing up to make sure Spring didn’t make a run for the door, he pulled up his voicemail and lifted it to his ear.  
  
 _“Goldie? I think I have a few apologies to make to you.”_  
  
He raised a brow at the short, vague message, though he never took his eyes off of Spring. The rabbit was biting his lower lip nervously and Goldie had a feeling he could hear the message even from there. _Wonder if he happens to know what the hell it means_. He closed out of his voicemail and went to hit his contacts, but as he did he heard the lock in the door click, and then a purple rabbit was stepping through into the living room.  
  
“Goldie, why in the world do you have all of the lights on?” Bonnie demanded as he closed the door, turning around to face Goldie. “The electricity bill will…” his voice trailed off as his gaze landed on the wide-eyed golden rabbit sitting on their couch, hood doing nothing to hide his identity. “Uh…?”  
  
“Um…..” Spring trailed nervously, shifting his gaze around him. “H… Hi?"

* * *

_“Alfred! The sun’s about to rise in a few minutes! Five minutes to be precise! Where is Spring?!”_  
  
 _“I found him! Be quiet, Blu, let me concentrate! He’s… in a bright room. The curtains are drawn, that’s good, but all of the lights are on… there’s… a gold bear and a purple rabbit… Oh my...”_  
  
 _“It’s them, isn’t it?”_  
  
 _“What are we gonna do?”_  
  
 _“We have to save him!”_  
  
 _“There’s no way we can get into the room. There are no shadows nearly dark enough to travel through and I don’t know where the room is in the city. We have no time.”_  
  
 _“But if Spring doesn’t tell them what he is they could_ kill _him, Al!”_  
  
 _“Then we have to trust that Spring will make the best decision! Be quiet, they’re speaking and I can only read their lips. I’ll tell you what they’re saying.”_

* * *

A strange expression crossed the golden rabbit’s face suddenly, but it was gone before Bonnie could even so much as blink. It was like… the rabbit _knew_ something… and Bonnie had a feeling it wasn’t about him.  
  
“Uh… Bonnie, is it?” Spring tried nervously, his smile as fake as his ignorance.   
  
“Cut the shit,” Bonnie commanded flatly, watching as the other flinched. “Goldie. Explain.”  
  
“Uh, well,” Goldie started, keeping his eyes on the fanged rabbit, “I think he was about to attack me?”  
  
“ _Attack_ you?!” Bonnie’s eyes widened and he looked at the cringing rabbit. _Wasn’t expecting that!_  
  
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Spring laughed hollowly, lifting his hands in some form of defense or surrender- Bonnie wasn’t quite sure which. “I-it wasn’t like I was going to kill him…” It was a lame defense and all three of them knew it. Bonnie scowled.  
  
“Calm down, Bonnie, turns out this ol’ bear’s still stronger than a weird not-aging rabbit,” Goldie declared, staring at Spring with a raised brow. “Oh yeah, and Bon?”  
  
“Yeah, Gold?”  
  
“I fucking _told you so_!”

* * *

_“Told you so? Told him what?”_   
  
_“Oh… uh… apparently they thought we weren’t real? I mean, when I ran into Bonnie earlier the first thing he asked was if I was real, so… uh, I dunno, maybe…”_

* * *

Bonnie wore a sheepish grin as he turned to his best friend. “Sorry, Gold, I just… I did send you a voicemail saying I needed to apologize. I just didn’t expect to come home to a stranger in the apartment.” He paused and looked back at the golden rabbit, frowning. “Well… kinda-stranger…”  
  
“Speaking of,” Goldie started as he stood up from his seat. “What was that even about?”  
  
“Oh, you know… just… walking home, thinking things over, running into Blu, finding out my life has pretty much been a lie,” the purple rabbit explained casually, dropping his bag onto the floor finally. “Y’know, the normal stuff.”  
  
“Wait- _when_ did you run into Blu?” Something in the golden rabbit’s voice changed as he jerked to attention. Bonnie, startled by the sudden change in demeanor, frowned and crossed his arms.  
  
“I don’t know, just after five?” he estimated. “He ran into a dark alley the moment he realized who I was.”  
  
Oddly enough that seemed to actually calm the rabbit and he closed his eye, letting out a sigh. Something was… strange about it. For a relaxing motion, it seemed very… concentrated. Bonnie suddenly had a feeling the rabbit wasn’t actually relaxing. But what _could_ he be doing…?

* * *

_“Oh no, Spring’s made a connection. Aaaand he’s lecturing me, wonderful.”_  
  
 _“You did kind of mess up really badly, Blu.”_  
  
 _“Shut up, Mangle, how was I supposed to know he’d be there?! I was just walking home! Walking home!”_  
  
 _“Shush, Blu, he’s trying to establish connections with us too. He needs to open his eyes again, I don’t know what’s going on- ah, there he is…”_  
  
 _“Spring, if you have to, tell them the truth. You can not let them open those curtains, the sun’s risen. If they even_ approach _that curtain, just tell them- the truth isn’t worth your life!”_

* * *

Spring’s ears twitched and he opened his eyes again, a frown playing at his lips as he looked up at the duo. It occurred to Bonnie how strange this angle was, looking down at a face he could only ever remember, no matter how fuzzily, looking _up_ at.  
  
“Look,” he started, “I answered your questions, can’t I go?”

* * *

_“What- no, Spring! The sun is up, and unless you plan on flicking the closet light off and teleporting home and giving them even more questions, that is a really bad idea!”_   
  
_“Calm down, Blu, they live in an apartment complex. Outside is a hallway and there were no windows at the end of the hall. The stairwell is dark enough.”_

* * *

“You didn’t answer my questions, you just gave me more,” Goldie stated flatly, crossing his arms. “And you weren’t being honest with me anyway.”  
  
“What did you ask him?” Bonnie asked curiously, raising a brow at his friend.  
  
“Just what the hell is going on,” Goldie told him with a shrug, his eyes staying on Spring. “And I may or may not have accused him of being a vampire.”  
  
“A vampire,” Bonnie repeated slowly. When Goldie nodded, he snorted and looked away, trying to hide his grin and ignore Goldie’s affronted expression. “Goldie, vampires don’t exist.”  
  
“You thought the same about them,” Goldie shot back, nodding slightly towards Spring. The golden rabbit in question looked rather… conflicted about something.  
  
Bonnie frowned and looked at his friend. “ _People_ existing and _creatures_ existing are two completely different things, Goldie. Besides, if he was a vampire he’d have totally kicked your ass.”  
  
Goldie scowled at him. “Well then, how about we test it, huh?” he suggested as he turned his gaze back to Spring.  
  
The rabbit on the couch fidgeted, suddenly clutching his cloak tighter around himself. “Test… what?”  
  
“Vampires don’t like the sun, do they?” Goldie mused aloud, watching Spring’s eyes widen. He began walking over to the curtain, aware of the two rabbits’ eyes on his back. “Dunno why, it’s so nice.”  
  
“W-wait, don’t do that!” Spring yelped, leaping up off of the couch and backing away. The action startled Bonnie, but it also confused him. “This is ridiculous, kid, vampires don’t exist!”  
  
Goldie chose to ignore the rabbit calling him kid for the moment and grabbed the curtain, looking back at Spring. “Then tell the truth.”

* * *

_“Spring! Just tell them!”_   
  
_“Oh my goodness, no! Spring, you have to tell them! If they open that curtain-”_   
  
_“Spring!”_

* * *

When the golden rabbit didn’t answer, Goldie went to pull the curtain open. A strangled yelp got his attention, though, and he looked back at the rabbits.  
  
From what he could understand, Spring had made a run for it and Bonnie had grabbed him, twisting his arm behind his back and holding him in place. The rabbit’s hood fell down in the short fight, and now Goldie had a clear look at his expression.  
  
He looked _terrified_.  
  
“All you have to do is tell the truth,” Goldie repeated. He _really_ wanted the rabbit to tell the truth. He didn’t want to actually _harm_ the rabbit, physically or psychologically.  
  
“I am!” Spring tried desperately, struggling against his captor. He was _very_ strong, Bonnie discovered, but the rabbit clearly hadn’t attuned his strength; he was using it in all the wrong ways. He was more likely to hurt himself than he was to get away. “You’re the one who won’t accept that it’s the truth!”  
  
“You’re struggling an awful lot for someone telling the truth,” Bonnie pointed out, raising a brow over his head towards Goldie. He did _not_ want to consider Goldie’s theory as having any merit, but even he was starting to rethink it. He chose to blame it on the lack of sleep. “Gonna open the curtains, Gold?”

* * *

_“Spring, it doesn’t matter- just tell them, we can deal with the Academy later! Your life depends on this!”_   
  
_“The Law-”_   
  
_“Fuck the Law, Spring! This is your life! Please, you know we still need you!”_   
  
_“Spring!”_

* * *

The rabbit suddenly closed his eyes tightly, looking as though he were about to collapse at any moment. Goldie glanced at his hand on the curtain and then back towards the rabbit, ears lowering slightly at just how frightened the rabbit was. _I did that. I feel like an asshole now..._ He let his hand fall away from the curtain. _I can’t do that._ “Hey, y-”  
  
“Yes!” the rabbit interrupted, trying to pull himself away from the larger rabbit’s grip. “Yes, I’m a vampire, okay?! Happy now?! Just _don’t_ open those curtains! M-my f-f-family n-needs me…!” His voice wavered and Goldie realized the vampire was fighting tears; he was terrified, not so much for himself but for his _family_. Because… if _he_ was a vampire, then _they_ would be, too… _wouldn’t they?_   
  
Bonnie abruptly let go and the rabbit- _vampire_?- stumbled and fell to the floor, unable to catch himself in time. That or he simply didn’t care enough to.  
  
The purple rabbit and the golden bear silently stared at each other over the frightened rabbit on the floor, who instead seemed to be cowering rather than standing up. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to go; his life was literally in their hands at that moment.   
  
_Vampires. They were_ vampires _. All that time_.  
  
“... We spent the night in a vampire’s house?”

* * *

_“Oh, great,_ that’s _what they’re concerned about?”_  
  
 _“Spring, it’ll be okay… they’re not moving towards you… just open your eyes so I can see them. You need to look up.”_  
  
 _“C’mon, you’re made of tougher stuff than this. You know you can overpower them if you need to, goldy-bun…”_

* * *

The rabbit on the floor shifted suddenly, catching the two friends’ attention. They watched, warily, as he pushed himself up off of the floor, up onto his knees, and opened his eyes. Those green eyes glanced up warily, watching Goldie. Bonnie was still behind him and it clearly made the rabbit nervous.  
  
It occurred to Goldie that he had a vampire in his apartment. Oh, sure, he had _suspected_ it, but to know it? _Why isn’t he attacking us? If he’s a vampire, shouldn’t he be able to do a lot of crazy shit? Or maybe he just… doesn’t_ want _to hurt us?_  
  
A snarl crossed his memories. In the alleyway just earlier that morning, the rabbit had actually looked dangerous. Now? He just looked like a frightened… _child_ , really. He was watching Goldie through his eyelashes, his ears hanging limply behind him. He looked tense, like he would run away or fight at the first indication that either Animal was going to attack him… but Goldie had a feeling the rabbit wouldn’t win that fight.  
  
It was several silent moments before Goldie suddenly said, “That is so fuckin’ _cool_.”

* * *

_“What?!”_

* * *

“Eh?!” Spring looked straight at him, brow furrowing in confusion. “Wha-?”  
  
Then Bonnie started laughing, causing the golden rabbit to whip around to look at him. He overbalanced, however, and found himself sprawled on the floor, staring wide-eyed at the laughing purple rabbit standing hardly a yard away, towering above him. It must have been strange for him, knowing this was once a tiny rabbit kit that he had met… not too long ago, really.  
  
Goldie grinned and approached the confused, scared rabbit, and he leaned over to look down at him. “See, Spring? Was that _really_ so hard?”  
  
Spring blinked owlishly up at them and then, slowly, his expression morphed into a scowl, gaze flicking to the side. “Both of you are _assholes_ ,” he declared, though his voice sounded more relieved than angry.   
  
_He must have realized we’re not about to kill him or something._  
  
“Nah, Goldie’s the asshole,” Bonnie replied, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ll be hearing about this forever. I still don’t think vampires are real but… it makes sense, I guess. Whatever. I’m too tired for this shit, I’ll decide when I wake up what I think of it all.”  
  
“How do you think I feel?” Goldie grimaced, glancing at Bonnie. “But… seriously, you’re a vampire and you were going to bite me?”  
  
Bonnie’s ears suddenly perked up and he frowned. “Yeah, wouldn’t that, y’know, tu-”  
  
“N-no!” Spring quickly interrupted, scrambling up to his feet before Goldie even registered he was sitting again. “No no no, you got that wrong- I don’t know _where_ you heard that _biting_ \- it doesn’t matter if _we_ bite _you_ , the problem’s when _you_ bite _us_ and- and- ... you’re looking at me like I’m crazy…” he trailed off, looking between the confused friends.  
  
“How is it a problem if, uh, one of _us_ bites _you_?” Goldie questioned, feeling somehow very awkward as he asked this. "I mean, isn't that kind'a the whole... vampire deal thing- _you_ bite the not-vampire and turn them?"  
  
“N-no! It’s- uh… it’s… not a _Bite_ that… _Turns_ you,” Spring fumbled, backing up so he could watch both of them and unwittingly putting his back against a wall. “It’s- it’s a Vampire’s _blood_ that turns you. Um- it- if you… you know… drink _our_ blood- even a drop- you either… Turn or die… depending on… circumstances.”  
  
Goldie and Bonnie exchanged quizzical looks. The golden rabbit wasn’t doing a very good job at explaining, but Goldie could remember that moment a blue rabbit accidentally cut himself and suddenly four adults were between them and him, keeping them away from the bleeding rabbit. _The bleeding vampire_.   
  
“So… basically, even if you had succeeded in attacking me, or realized too late who I was, I wouldn’t have been in any danger?” Goldie asked slowly, looking back at Spring.  
  
“Um… not of Turning. I mean, y-you might have had nightmares for a while… but Bites aren’t… _contagious_ … or, uh, lethal… except for, you know… when a Vampire is new or… or doesn’t, you know, know how... or…” he trailed off again, realizing he was making no sense. “Can I please just go home now? My family’s waiting for me. Th-they’re worried.”  
  
Bonnie tilted his head slightly and looked at Goldie. Goldie gave him a small grin and Bonnie shrugged back. “Only if you make a promise,” Goldie started, turning back to the rabbit.   
  
Spring frowned and tugged his hood back up, as if to hide his tear-matted fur. _When did he start crying? How did I not notice that?_ “A promise?” the rabbit questioned warily, eying them.  
  
“Yes, a promise,” Goldie nodded in affirmation. “And then I’ll turn out the lights so you can do that… shadow… thing.”  
  
“But you have to keep your promise,” Bonnie added with a sigh; he apparently realized just how easy it would be for the rabbit to agree and then never actually do it.  
  
Spring watched them for several silent seconds, lips pursed, and finally asked, “What _kind_ of promise?”  
  
“You and your friends visit us tomorrow,” Goldie stated simply, crossing his arms. “And tell us exactly what’s going on. And all about… this vampire stuff.”  
  
The rabbit looked uneasy. “That’s...against Vampiric Law,” he started, then he winced as they raised their brows at him.  
  
“Vampiric Law? So there’s an entire legal system?” Bonnie questioned, glancing at Goldie.  
  
“Of course,” Spring muttered, holding onto his arms. “You don’t honestly think there isn’t a system to keep the more… unruly in line, do you?”  
  
“We know nothing,” Goldie pointed out flatly. “Which is why you and your friends will come here tomorrow night to explain. And, you know, re-meet _my_ family, catch up on old times, and get them to see that I’m _not. Fucking. Crazy_.” He added a glare towards Bonnie at this last part.  
  
“Let it go,” Bonnie grumbled, glancing away in embarrassment. “I said sorry.”  
  
“ _Sorry_ does not cover nearly a _decade_ of being called crazy, sorry.”  
  
“It’s only been, like, seven or eight years since we started that, come on.”  
  
“I said _nearly_.”  
  
“Um,” Spring interrupted, hesitating as their attention snapped back to him. “I can’t make promises on my friends’ behalfs, but… I guess… _I_ at least could come,” he conceded, nervously fidgeting his hands.   
  
“Promise?” Goldie questioned, eying the golden rabbit.   
  
“I promise,” the rabbit mumbled, shifting in his spot.  
  
“Pinky-promise?”  
  
The rabbit blinked and stared at him for several silent seconds. Finally, he asked, “Uh… _what_?”  
  
“They not have pinky-promises in your time?” Bonnie asked casually, raising a brow.  
  
“I… suppose not. What is it supposed to do?” The rabbit sounded legitimately curious, but Goldie didn’t have time to be diverted. He wanted to get some sleep.  
  
“Doesn’t matter,” Goldie dismissed, waving his hand in the air. “What about crossing your heart?”  
  
“Uh…”  
  
“Okay then, guess not… just shake hands?” Bonnie snorted and earned a glare from both golden-furred creatures. “Shut up, Bonnie.”  
  
“I’m sorry but it’s so obvious now.”  
  
“You’re not sorry at all, are you?”  
  
“Nope.”  
  
Goldie sighed and turned back to Spring, who was watching them with a rather intense gaze. It was, perhaps, the first time he truly looked at Goldie since realizing it was him in the alley. He looked confused, curious, intrigued, and somewhat amused at their interaction.   
  
He stuck his hand out towards the rabbit, a grin on his muzzle. “C’mon, I’m not turning out the lights until you seal the deal with a handshake, rabbit.”  
  
The golden rabbit tilted his head slightly at him, and Goldie could have sworn there was the hint of a smile on his face. He wondered if Spring had realized finally that they meant him no harm, or maybe he had realized that though everything had changed in those fourteen years, they were still those children he had met back then.  
  
Granted, they were all grown up and he was sure they were now older than the rabbit, ignoring the numerous years that Spring had undoubtedly been alive, but it _was_ them.   
  
Finally, the rabbit gave a small nod and reached out to take the bear’s larger hand, giving it a slight shake. Goldie grinned at him and Spring couldn’t help but smile back, the terror he had felt just a few minutes earlier completely faded. Spring had only one request to make.  
  
“Just please don’t trap me here again.”

* * *

_“Oh Spring… what have we gotten ourselves into?”_   
  
_“The Academy will undoubtedly find out if we interact with them for too long…”_   
  
_“So, this is all shades of bad then?”_   
  
_“Maybe not. We’ll see.”_   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering where they heard all these curses... Blu "hunts" in clubs. Where else do you think they learn this stuff?


	6. We Walk Amongst You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to figure out how to do this chapter was the hard part. Finding the time and energy to do it was even harder. Eeee.
> 
> For those of you who don't know, I actually finished this chapter ages ago and then decided I didn't like how it turned out so I completely scrapped what I had written and wrote this instead.

He stared at the clock on the wall, watching the seconds tick slowly by. There were only twenty minutes until sunset.

With a soft sigh, the rabbit closed his eyes and settled back on the couch, drawing his bare feet up under him. From down the hallway, Blu could hear footsteps. _Spring._ He knew it was Spring; too light to be Alfred, too heavy to be Mangle, too soft to be Chii.

In his mind, an image formed; the front entryway, with its boarded-up door and windows and the lit chandelier. A tall, cloaked, masked figure stood in front of the door, towering over all of them, with the book of Laws held in his hand. The light throbbing that accompanied the image told him exactly what it was.

A Vision.

“Blu?” He opened his eyes and looked over at Spring, frowning slightly. Spring was watching him, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“For now,” Blu answered with a shrug. “We need to be careful or else Marion’s gonna visit us.”

The golden rabbit frowned and then sighed. “Well... better Marion than Nightmare, I suppose.”

“Oh yeah, as if the lord himself would come investigate a bunch of lowlies like us,” Blu snorted, sitting up. “But Marion- Spring, he can get in our heads, you know that.”

“Yes,” Spring agreed, “but he’ll have no reason to if he suspects nothing.”

“If he suspected nothing he wouldn’t visit in the first place.”

“We’ll just have to play it safe,” Spring sighed, sitting down beside his youngest brother. "If worse comes to worst, we'll finally cash in on all those favours he owes us."

“We’re already playing dangerously, Spring,” Blu warned, eying his fellow Vampire. He chose to ignore the latter half of his brother's statement. “Telling them about Vampires is one thing, explaining Vampiric Law is another.”

“We’re not gonna tell them the more sensitive information,” Spring assured, though Blu highly doubted they would stick to their makeshift rules. “Just the little things... like... wild roses don’t harm us, and garlic is just a tasty seasoning for food.”

Blu rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help but smile slightly. “Leave it to you to think of food.”

Spring pouted childishly at him and leaned in close to him, ears lowering in a way that suggested innocence. “Aw, I’m just hungry~!”

With a laugh, Blu lightly shoved the golden rabbit away. “Well I’m not dinner so buzz off, Vampy.” Blinking, the blue rabbit suddenly realized something and frowned. “Hey, Spring, did you even Feed last night when we all went Hunting?”

“Ah...” Spring sat back up, his playful pout replaced with sheepishness. “No, but I should be good for another few days.”

“Should you risk being around Mortals if you haven’t Fed?” Blu asked uneasily, frowning at his friend. “I mean... you could be miscalculating. We don’t exactly Hunt often... you could go Crazed...”

The golden rabbit rolled his eyes. “I won’t go Crazed,” he assured his friend, standing up again. “I’d be showing signs if I were about to go Crazed.”

“Just making sure,” Blu sighed, sliding his feet out from under himself. “We don’t exactly want any... casualties while trying to prove Vampires aren’t so bad.”

“Since when were we trying to prove that?”

“Oh, please, Spring, I know how your mind works.”

“Okay, _maybe_ I sorta wanna prove my innocence? Or that we mean no harm...” the golden rabbit trailed off, glancing towards the ceiling. “I kinda... don’t want them to hate us.” His gaze returned to Blu, bright green eyes somewhat embarrassed. “I know they’re not kids anymore, but... they’re still those kids we met back then. I don’t... like the thought of them being _scared_ of us... or even thinking we don’t exist.”

Blu gazed sadly at his friend; he could understand the sentiment. No one wanted to be forgotten or feared, not by a group of people they had fond memories with... no matter how short-lived those memories were. “I know,” he told the rabbit, standing up off of the couch and stretching his arms above his head. He gave his lifelong friend a grin. “Come on, let’s go get our cloaks.”

The golden rabbit smiled briefly back at him before turning and walking into the darkened corner. Blu followed shortly after, giving a wary glance towards the clock one last time.

In his mind, he could still see the tall cloaked figure staring down at them.

* * *

 “Bonnie, why in the world are you encouraging him?”

“Encouraging him? What’s that supposed to mean, Freddy?”

“Stop whatever game ya think you’re playin’ and stop messin’ with my brother’s head!”

Goldie took a deep, calming breath in through his nose, watching his younger brother and one of their best friends glare at each other. “Freddy,” he started, “I’m telling you, he was _here._ And he promised he’d come back tonight and explain what was going on.”

“I saw him _and_ the other rabbit,” Bonnie insisted, not backing down from his friend.

“You were _tired,”_ Freddy countered, scowling. “It was late, you-”

“You see, I thought that might have been what caused it,” Bonnie interrupted, crossing his arms. “But when I woke up this afternoon I realized it _wasn’t._ Because last night I dreamed you and Foxy over there were doin’ the chicken dance.”

“The chicken dance? Really?” Chica snorted from where she lounged on the couch. Foxy was sitting, boredly, on the armrest by her feet, not even reacting to the apparent contents of the purple rabbit's dream.

“Freddy,” the fox drawled, catching his friends’ attention. “Maybe instead of arguin’ about it, we just wait for the lads to prove it? If they say that the, ah, _vampires_ are comin’ by tonight, let’s just wait and see if it’s true.”

“There’s no such thing as vampires,” Freddy muttered, rolling his eyes, but honestly, how could he argue Foxy’s logic? Either they would show up or they wouldn’t.

“They’ll be here,” Goldie stated confidently, grinning at his brother. “And you’ll have to eat your words. Fourteen years’ worth.”

“We’ve only been callin’ you crazy for ten or so,” Bonnie immediately put in. “Less, actually. High school.”

“Still.”

“Let’s give ‘em the benefit of the doubt, Freddy,” Chica sighed, sitting up. “If they show up we know they’re telling the truth, and if they don’t we know they’re either lying or delusional.”

“Pardon if I may, but not showing up wouldn’t prove anything. You can’t prove something _doesn’t_ exist, only that it does. Otherwise you simply don’t know.”

“Exactly!” Goldie agreed, grinning. It took him a moment to realize that that wasn’t any of his friends’ voices.

Freddy stared past Goldie’s shoulder, eyes wide; his expression was reflected on both Chica and Foxy’s faces. Turning around, Goldie found himself facing the darkened second bedroom.

Standing in the doorway was Spring, his cloak on and his hood pulled up to shadow his face, but Goldie could still make out his features.

“Uh- what?” Foxy started, standing up off of the couch’s armrest. “Where did you-”

“Geez, I was starting to wonder if you were bailin’,” Goldie snorted, crossing his arms. Spring stepped out of the shadows and to the side of the door, pulling his hood down.

“I told you, I don’t break promises,” the rabbit stated matter-of-factly. He gave a polite nod to Goldie’s family. “The others are coming shortly.”

“Oh, good! Good... uh, did ya just come through the shadows or something?”

The rabbit glanced over towards Goldie’s brother and friends. “Yeah... I figured it’d be better for everyone if your neighbors didn’t see five cloaked people standing outside your door. They might think you were part of a cult or something.”

“Hold up,” Freddy interrupted, staring at Spring, “what’s goin’ on?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

A new form materialized from the shadows, and the vixen dropped her hood with a heavy sigh. “And here I thought you were expecting us.”

“We were,” Bonnie snorted as the fox moved away from the doorway. “How do you guys even do that?”

“Well, now, that’s a secret we won’t be sharing,” Mangle laughed, giving the five friends a wink. Spring just rolled his eyes.

“We don’t know,” he answered flatly, earning a small glare from his sister. Goldie snorted.

“Informative.”

“Honestly,” another figure sighed as they walked through the open doorway, “it’s hard to explain and even harder to understand.” They watched as the familiar blue-eyed chicken removed her hood, smiling widely at the family of friends. “Long time, no see~ You two gave us quite a scare last night, that stunt you pulled with Spring.”

Goldie winced. “Er, you... know about that?”

“Of course we do,” another voice scoffed as the second rabbit stepped into the light. His emerald eyes looked somewhat hard, a contradiction to what Goldie could remember from his childhood, as he tugged his own hood down, freeing his ears. “You don’t think our brother would hide something like that from us, do you?”

“Blu,” Spring started warningly, eying the younger.

“Hey, they’re the ones who did it, not me.”

“Just calm down,” another voice sighed as the final vampire stepped out of the bedroom. Immediately Goldie noticed that this one’s blue eyes were glowing somewhat, and he didn’t remove his hood as his gaze landed on Goldie and the others. “The past is the past, is it not?”

Goldie felt somewhat... _intimidated_ by the glowing blue eyes, but as Alfred lowered the hood and the glowing faded he wondered if it had been just a trick of the light. He didn’t think it was.

“Hello, children~” Chii laughed, crossing her arms as she looked around at them. “You’ve all grown so much.”

“We’re not children,” Chica immediately declared, finally standing up from the couch and staring at the too-familiar faces.

“Yeah,” Chii agreed with a forlorn sigh, as if that fact was unfortunate. “Fourteen years is a long time.”

“Well,” Blu snickered, glancing at the chicken, “for _them_ it is.”

“Focus,” Alfred cut in before anyone else could speak up. “Now, in case you don’t remember, I’m Alfred. These are my brothers Spring and Blu, and these are my sisters Chii and Mangle.”

“And fourteen years later those names are now _very_ strange,” Bonnie commented, raising a brow at them. “Except Alfred, of course.”

Blu shrugged. “Technically speaking we shouldn’t be introducing ourselves by those names,” he stated boredly, glancing at the ceiling. “Of course, technically speaking we shouldn’t be introducing ourselves at all, we’re in a period of Isolation.”

Bonnie and Goldie exchanged a glance. “Isolation?” the golden bear repeated.

“It’s something Vampires living among Mortals do, if they don’t move from city to city,” Mangle explained briefly, though the explanation didn’t really answer anything.

“Can someone explain what’s going on?” Freddy finally voiced, getting his brother’s attention. “I don’t understand.”

“And here I thought you had explained it to them,” Spring sighed, ears twitching as he looked at the sensible bear.

“I did!” Goldie immediately protested, looking somewhat affronted. “He’s the one who refuses to believe me!”

_"Vampires_ are fantasy creatures, of _course_ I don’t believe you!”

Bonnie rolled his eyes as the twins’ argument began and Spring fidgeted, glancing at his own family.

“Er,” the golden rabbit started, looking back towards the bear brothers, “actually, we _do_ exist. I mean... Vampires are _everywhere._ ”

“Everywhere?” Bonnie repeated, raising a brow. “What do you mean everywhere? I think we would have noticed them by now if they were.”

The Vampires all shared a look, and Goldie suddenly had a feeling that there was a conversation that they weren’t privy to going on.

_Thinking about it, just_ how _did the others hear what we were talking about when they weren’t even here yet?_

“Well,” Spring started, looking back at the family. “Vampires aren’t really… _that_ distinguishable from Mortals, when the right precautions have been taken.”

“Looks pretty obvious to me,” Bonnie snorted, eying the Vampire’s fangs.

“Most hide their fangs, actually. We didn’t bother since we’re in Isolation right now and the fact that you ran into us wasn’t planned.”

It was a simple, matter-of-fact explanation that explained everything and nothing at the same time.

“Okay,” Chica suddenly started, “how about I get drinks for everybody and you can start from the top because I am _beyond confused_ right now.”

Before any of the Vampires could protest, Chica was off to the kitchen, leaving the boys, Chii, and Mangle standing awkwardly in the living room.

After a few seconds, Mangle said, “So, uh... nice place?” It was a pathetic attempt at small talk and Goldie almost laughed. No one responded, all knowing that it was pointless.

“Look,” Blu started, glancing at his sister, “we’re just here to answer questions. We won’t answer every question but we’ll answer what we can, and this is the _only_ time we’re doing this, got it?”

Goldie exchanged a glance with Bonnie, but it was Freddy who said, “So you’re here to answer whatever questions _you_ think are worth answering.” His tone was flat and disbelieving, but at least he wasn’t still questioning what the hell was going on.

“Not exactly,” Alfred countered, shaking his head. “We’ll answer any questions we _can_ answer. There’s a difference.”

“Sounds like a cop-out to me,” Foxy snorted, crossing his arms and sitting down on the couch’s arm rest again. “So you’re the lot who were in the abandoned mansion on Lakeview Road?”

“Not abandoned,” Mangle immediately corrected, setting her hands on her hips and eying the red fox. “We actually happen to _own_ that house.”

“We just let it look and feel abandoned,” Blu tacked on helpfully. “You know- to try and ward off troublemakers and explorers.”

“And when all else fails, you scare the shit out of children,” the fox deadpanned, raising a brow at them. All five Vampires winced.

“Okay, look, I was following the usual protocol for trespassers,” Mangle defended, glaring slightly at Blu. “Because _someone-_ ”

“Stop it,” Alfred cut her off before an argument could arise. “Honestly, we only meant to unnerve you so you would leave.”

“We’re _really_ sorry about scaring you,” Chii added, glancing aside guiltily. “We aren’t used to children wandering in, usually it’s teenagers and young adults.”

“By the way, fixing that door wasn’t fun, thanks for that,” Blu added sarcastically, crossing his arms as he looked at Goldie and his friends. “Do you know how hard it is to find and buy a door for a nineteenth-century mansion when you can only go out at night? And installing it- _fuck_ that isn’t fun.”

“Oh stop complaining, Alfred and I did most of the work anyway,” Spring sighed, lightly nudging his younger brother. Goldie and Bonnie exchanged a glance, but neither of them interrupted the light bantering. It was clear to them that, even after all those years, the strange family was still as close as could be.

“Excuse me,” Mangle scoffed, propping her hip sassily. It looked more mocking than anything. “If I remember correctly, Spring, you noped out of there the first time you smashed your finger with the hammer.”

“Hammer?” Goldie muttered, raising a brow. _You don’t use a hammer to fix a door... oh, wait, they board their door up, don’t they..._

_“Smashed my finger?!_ _You’re_ the one who was swinging it- _before_ the nail was even in place! Of course I got out of there, you crazy fox, you nearly nailed my hand to the door!”

“Behave,” Alfred sighed, glancing at the ceiling as though seeking answers from the heavens above.

“So, question,” Goldie started before the rabbit or vixen could complain, “how _long_ have you been in, uh... Isolation?”

Chii hummed in thought, rocking on the balls of her feet. “I think it was about... eight years ago that our Isolation started? Isolation periods usually last about twenty to thirty years, when the new generation won’t recognize us and we can claim to be our own descendants to the older generation that does,” she explained, and Goldie hated that _that_ was the most decent explanation they had received thus far.

“So you weren’t in... Isolation fourteen years ago,” Freddy surmised, dropping down into the chair in the corner of the living room next to his bookshelf. When the Vampires shook their heads in confirmation, he asked, “Then why pretend the house was unoccupied?”

“Uh,” Blu started, “because we got the house, like, a _century_ ago, and it’d be weird for a family to “move in” and "disappear" within five or ten years, just for their "children" to show up in twenty in the exact same house?”

“A century?” Goldie immediately latched onto those words as Chica returned with drinks- it was just sweet tea all around, it seemed. “Is that how old you are?”

The Vampires fell into an awkward silence, sharing uneasy glances. “We got the mansion a century ago,” Chii corrected as she accepted the offered tea with a grateful nod to Chica. “Um... young Vampires aren’t allowed into Mortal society, actually.”

“Definition of young?” Bonnie prompted, glancing around at his own friends. Freddy looked conflicted and Foxy seemed unsure of what to think, but they were taking it much better than he expected them to. Especially Freddy.

“Um... it varies, actually,” Spring answered evasively, glancing aside. “Ten is the minimum before Vampires are allowed to enter Mortal societies, but it’s usually awkward and difficult for the first thirty or forty years I guess...”

“So you’ve been Vampires for _at least_ a hundred and ten years,” Chica was the one to say.

“At least,” Spring confirmed, fidgeting with his cloak. “And there’s no point in asking what it feels like to become a Vampire, we don’t remember it.”

That explained why they were being awkward about their ages; they didn’t remember the process or the early days. Goldie wondered why, but he chose not to ask. Instead, he said, “Maybe we should get to what’s actually, uh, important, huh?”

“That’d be nice, yes.”

“Er...” Foxy started, scratching his left ear in confusion, “what exactly _is_ important here?”

“First I think we need to actually know what you guys _are,_ " Goldie stated simply. Spring gave him a highly unimpressed look.

“I thought we already established that.”

“Well apparently we have misconceptions, so explain.”

“Jesus Christ, that’s a _lot_ to go through,” Blu sighed, rolling his eyes. Bonnie raised a brow, and it didn’t go unnoticed by the Vampire. “Oh don’t look at me like that, we live in the south, you don’t honestly think religion and holy books and names and churches hurt us, do you?”

“Actually,” Spring started, glancing at Blu, “it _can_ hurt us, but only when in the right person’s hands...”

“Yeah, yeah,” Blu waved his hand dismissively. “But come on, the same can be true about _anything._ "

“Point.”

“So,” Goldie interrupted, realizing the rabbits were getting off track, “What exactly is misunderstood anyway?” As he asked this, he sat down on the couch beside Chica. Bonnie remained standing, leaning against a wall.

“That depends on what you believe about us,” Spring shrugged, turning his attention back to the Mortals. “And, uh, you two,” he indicated Goldie and Bonnie, “already displayed that you thought us _biting_ someone would Turn them, so let’s start there; Bites are _not_ what turns Mortals into Vampires.”

“Eh? It’s not?” Foxy questioned, eying the Vampires warily. “Then what does?”

“Apparently,” Bonnie cut in before an answer could be given, “us drinking _their_ blood.”

“Or it getting into your system in any way, including in wounds, though that’s more rare and less efficient,” Alfred added. “It’s best to just keep your distance from a bleeding Vampire.”

“Or a Vampire in general,” Mangle snorted, looking pointedly over at Goldie. “Especially the Day Walkers.”

“... Day Walkers?” Bonnie repeated uneasily.

“Vampires with the ability to walk in the sunlight,” Blu explained, a bitter edge creeping into his voice. “They’re not exactly _rare,_ you can find them in any city, but they are _extremely_ hard to detect and usually slip under the radar.”

“Er... do you _know_ any?”

“Yeah, but we’re not gonna reveal another’s identity,” Mangle cut in before Blu could answer, lifting one of her hands in front of her as if saying _stop._ “It’s bad enough we’re even here, if we blow someone _else’s_ cover we’ll get in _major_ trouble.”

“Trust me, we already are,” Blu laughed mirthlessly, then quickly added, “So, on the subject of sunlight and sleeping during the day, we do _not_ sleep in _coffins._ ”

“Does anyone honestly believe that?” Alfred questioned, curiosity and amusement lacing his tone. Goldie tried not to look too guilty as he glanced at his family. “Who would sleep in a small narrow box meant for the dead? We're not dead.”

“Okay, moving on,” Goldie quickly put in, scrambling desperately for a new question. He remembered the Vampire's earlier words and Bonnie's subsequent question- one that hadn't been properly answered. He decided to go for it. “What did you mean earlier that Vampires are everywhere?”

That question caused the Vampires to pause yet again, and they exchanged their own cautious expressions, as though silently debating whether or not to tell them. The silence dragged on for several tense seconds, though now the silent conversation seemed to be between the golden rabbit and the rosy bear.

“We... can only answer that on one condition,” Spring started slowly, though his gaze never left Alfred.

“What condition is it?” Goldie asked warily, unsure if making a deal with a Vampire was a good idea. The others looked unsure as well.

The golden rabbit tore his gaze away from his brother, landing on the golden bear sitting on the couch. His eyes looked almost like steel as he seemed to pin Goldie with the intensity of his stare. Goldie fidgeted as the Vampire opened his mouth to answer.

“What we say doesn’t leave this room, even in fancy. Don’t say it to your mothers, your fathers, your sisters or brothers, your coworkers, your friends, don’t even talk about it amongst yourselves when outside. It _never_ leaves this apartment, you _never_ write it down even in private journals, _never_ in fictional stories, not online, _nowhere ever as long as you live._ ”

The rabbit’s words were clipped and hard, and Goldie had a feeling that whatever he was about to say was a lot more serious than Goldie would first assume. “Why not?” he asked carefully, watching the Vampires’ reactions. Spring didn't let up on his stare.

“Because you never know who’s listening,” Blu answered for his brother, glancing aside as he spoke. _“We_ can talk about it because we’re Vampires, we can sense if anyone’s nearby, but _you_ guys are Mortals. You’ll never know if there’s someone just around the corner or if someone with invisibility is standing with you. And,” he added, his voice dropping, “you never know if there are Hunters nearby.”

Goldie shared a look with his twin across the room. He decided to question what the "Hunters" were later.

He had a feeling he already knew.

“To be honest,” Freddy spoke up again as he looked back towards the Vampires, “I had no plans to speak of this since I’m not even one-hundred percent convinced this isn’t a big elaborate prank Bonnie and Goldie convinced you five to play along with, so I have no problem agreeing to that.”

“I’ve got no one to tell,” Chica stated with a shrug, sipping her tea. “Most of my other friends are science nerds, not fantasy geeks.”

“I don’t wanna be called crazy or challenged by the Twihards,” was all Foxy said.

Goldie looked at Bonnie who simply shrugged back at him. “Does this include phone conversations?” he asked, looking back towards the Vampires.

_“Especially_ phone conversations,” Alfred confirmed as the other four Vampires nodded.

“Eh, well, I guess if there’s any reason to talk about it, it can always wait until we get home,” Goldie decided, shrugging. “I’ll agree.”

“Same,” Bonnie agreed almost immediately, giving it little extra thought. “So the answer?”

Spring and Alfred shared another glance, then looked back towards the five Mortals around the room. Blu, Mangle, and Chii stayed silent, watching their brothers.

“Well,” the golden rabbit started, watching them carefully. Goldie suddenly felt nervous, the rabbit's green eyes reflecting caution. He had a feeling that the rabbit would _know_ if any of them went back on their promise... and the consequences would not be pretty. “Vampires are a _big_ part of the world’s population- actually, a _huge_ part, which is why killing or Turning Mortals on purpose is against Vampiric Law. There’s too many of us relying on Mortals; if your population falls, so does ours.” Spring paused, letting that information sink in.

He continued with, “I’d say every time you go out- _especially_ after dark- you will pass at _least_ three Vampires- more if the moon is waning- and if you’ve been to college you’ve probably had classes with several others... as students or teachers, doesn’t matter. Maybe you’ve even roomed with a Day Walker or a Vampire who found a Charm.

“Jobs, you’re even more likely to have worked with or _for_ a Vampire, especially if you work the night shift.” His green eyes focused on Bonnie at those words, but his attention shifted back to Goldie within seconds as he continued. “Taking into account that Vampires move in and out of cities all of the time, probably a few every month even, and they also enter and exit periods of Isolation...” he trailed off, letting it dangle in the air as Goldie and his family took in the meaning of his words.

“Basically,” Alfred picked up, summarizing what the Mortals had already figured out, “you’ve already met hundreds, if not thousands, of us, all on a daily basis.

“In fact, you’ve been living among and interacting with Vampires your entire lives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also dat title reference.
> 
> (Just saying now, Freddy is taking all of this with a grain of salt and Foxy doesn't know what to think)


	7. No Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who remembers Goldie's words from Too Familiar? You know... those words. When he was talking to Bonnie. Yeah, those words come back up in this chapter. And you know how Spring & Co. have basically confirmed that there's an entire supernatural society living alongside mortal society (with Vampiric Law and such)? Aaaand remember them mentioning that Vampires can sense things that Mortals can't? Yeah.
> 
> This is why I included those.

“Wait a minute... you’re honestly, seriously telling us that we’ve met vampires _before_ you?”

Goldie’s hesitant question was met with the unimpressed stares of five Vampires and four Mortals. After a few seconds, Spring shrugged.

“Well, it depends on your definition of Vampires,” he started casually, glancing aside at Alfred. “There are tons of categories, but yeah, as an umbrella statement, you probably met your first Vampire as an infant.”

“Categories?” Bonnie parroted, raising a brow. “There are... categories?”

“Well, yeah,” Blu laughed, sharing a look with Mangle. “I mean, your fictions have some of those right. There are pure-bloods, halfers or, uh, what do you guys call them...”

“Dhampyres?” Chica suggested.

“Yeah, that’s the one!”

“What’s a pure-blood?” Foxy questioned, confusion lacing his voice.

“Oh, you know,” Blu waved a hand dismissively, glancing at the ceiling, “the Vampires whose entire family line is made of Vampires. Anyway-”

“Wait, Vampires can reproduce?!”

The Vampires blinked and exchanged glances. Spring hummed a bit, as if in disapproval, before Alfred sighed and answered, “The Purebloods and Dhampyres can. Turned, like us, cannot. Can we get back to explaining Vampire Categories?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Goldie laughed awkwardly, glancing at Foxy. _Why in the_ world _did he ask something so awkward?_

“As I was saying,” Blu continued, some irritation seeping into his voice, “There are the pure-bloods- descended from the original Vampires-, the Dhampyres- half-Vampire half-Mortal creatures-, the Turned- Mortals who were, well... Turned-, and the, uh...” He trailed off, glancing at Alfred. Alfred simply shrugged back. “... and the Hybrids.”

“Hybrids?”

“They’re, um... well...”

“We don’t speak of them often,” Alfred sighed, glancing at the suddenly-nervous blue rabbit. “They were created as a by-product of history long-forgotten by Mortals, and generally speaking they’re reviled as unnatural and disgusting by all sects of ‘supernatural’ society.”

“Vampires only have to worry about Mortal Hunters,” Spring muttered, glancing towards the roof. “But Hybrids have to worry about Mortal, Vampire, _and_ Were- _Ow! Mangle!_ ”

Goldie raised a brow as the vixen in question roughly kicked the golden rabbit’s leg. “Werewolves?”

“Ugh, thanks Spring, we were only supposed to tell them about Vampires,” Mangle hissed, elbowing her brother.

“Uh, _hello,_ we were already explaining _Hybrids_ to them, they’d ask eventually what a Hybrid is even _made_ of,” Spring shot back, rubbing his arm with a scowl.

“A... Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid?” Goldie guessed, glancing at his twin across the room. “Erm... how often do we run into, uh... Hybrids?”

“Not often,” Chii stepped in before her brothers or Mangle could answer, twiddling with her fingers. “They, um, they tend to stay away from populated areas. They’re easier to detect than either a Vampire or a Werewolf are, and since the latter two live everywhere-”

“Wait, _Werewolves_ live everywhere too?!”

The Vampires all winced and Mangle gave Chii a scolding look. Spring sighed.

“Yes,” he deadpanned, “Werewolves live everywhere too. If this was, what... five, six hundred years ago, they wouldn’t live in the same places as Vampires. Because of... things we won’t get into. The thing that, um, brought about the existence of Hybrids in the first place.”

“Look, can we change the subject?” Blu cut in again. “This is making me _very_ uncomfortable, we’re only supposed to be talking about Vampires.”

“Agreed,” Alfred sighed, glancing towards the curtained window.

“Hey,” Bonnie started, watching the five Vampires, “do you remember who you were before being Turned?”

All five Vampires looked at him, their expressions going strangely blank. The silence was heavy and Goldie had a feeling that that was _not_ something to ask.

However, none of the Vampires seemed to become hostile. Instead, Alfred answered coldly, “Who we were before is irrelevant to who we are now. It’s in the past and there is no going back.”

That was, clearly, the end of that.

_It’s a sensitive subject,_ Goldie surmised as Chica quickly asked, “What’s Vampiric Law, anyway? You mentioned it being against Vampiric Law to purposefully turn someone, so-”

“It’s the laws all Vampires abide by,” Mangle cut her off, glancing towards Alfred. “Well, most Vampires, anyway. Not all Vampires are good, and not all Vampires are registered. They escape before... Well, that doesn’t matter.”

“I feel like we’re getting into the questions you can’t or won’t answer,” Freddy finally spoke up with a sigh.

“Mortals aren’t meant to know everything about us,” Blu snorted, crossing his arms and looking away. “You know, we should probably go. Because of yesterday Spring hasn’t Fed since-”

“What?!” Mangle and Chii both immediately turned to look at Spring, eyes wide. Goldie and Bonnie shared a confused look.

“Spring, why didn’t you say anything?!” Mangle demanded, scowling. “No wonder you’re in a bad mood!”

“Hey, I am _not_ in a bad mood, thank you very much!”

“Spring!”

“Pardon the interruption,” Freddy drawled, watching the Vampire ladies and the golden rabbit’s not-argument, “but what’s with that reaction? Isn’t it a little... over-the-top?”

“We only Feed every two weeks,” Alfred explained, watching his sisters badger Spring. “Spring’s level can only go around half a week more than that without Feeding. Before, ah...”

“Oh please, explain to them the danger they’ve put themselves in,” Blu smirked, eying the Mortals. Goldie suddenly felt nervous again. “I mean, they want to know about Vampires so bad, surely they should get to know about Bloodlust.”

“Blood... lust?” Foxy repeated, sharing a worried look with Chica.

“That’s enough,” Spring growled, shoving his concerned sisters away from him. “I am _not_ going Crazed, guys.”

“Crazed?” Chica raised a brow at the Vampires.

“Every Vampire has a different level of Bloodlust,” Blu explained much too chipperly. Goldie had a feeling he was enjoying their discomfort.

Must have been his form of revenge for them scaring and threatening his brother...

“Luckily for you, all of us are lower levels,” the blue rabbit continued with a glance towards his siblings. “Mangle has the highest, though she’s still low, she has to Feed slightly more often than we do. And we Feed around once every two weeks, before the Craze can set in~”

“Blu,” Alfred sighed, glaring at his youngest brother. “Stop it.”

“We’re not here to talk about that,” Spring grumbled, crossing his arms. “Are we done here? I’ve lived up to my side of the deal and I hear no more questions coming.”

Goldie frowned and looked at Bonnie. To be honest, he had _so_ many more questions, but he had a feeling the Vampires in front of them were becoming agitated. They had begun fidgeting, shuffling from one foot to the other and casting wary glances around. And blue rabbit had even started playing with his cloak, wearing a small frown.

_Definitely agitated._

“Just one more question,” he decided, looking back at the people who had once looked like adults to him.

“What is it?” Alfred asked, ever the polite one it seemed.

“Will we see you guys again?”

That seemed to catch both his friends _and_ the Vampires off guard. Spring blinked owlishly at him, his arms loosening. “Probably not,” he answered softly. “We’re in a period of Isolation right now, we only come out to Feed. You five will be out of this town by the time our Isolation is over.”

“You seem so sure we’ll be leaving town,” Bonnie snorted, looking at the golden rabbit, unimpressed.

“Everyone does eventually,” Mangle scoffed, setting her hands on her hips. “Sure, some come back, but in this ever-evolving world of connection and opportunity, who stays in a small riverside town like this one?”

“Those of us who call it home?” Freddy suggested almost sarcastically. “We’re done with school.”

“And this town does not offer much opportunity for you,” Alfred stated calmly, eying the brown bear. “Whether or not you call this place home right now, the simple fact of the matter is your best chances lie _away_ from here.”

Goldie frowned and glanced towards Foxy, who was scowling sharply. _Durmont is our home._ “You know,” he started, leaning heavily against the back of the couch and crossing his arms, “you guys talk like you know everything, but you really don’t know much about, ah, _mortals,_ do you?”

That earned a sharp frown from all five Vampires. “You _do_ realize we were once just like you, right?” Blu countered with a scowl. “We kinda _do_ understand. We _were_ Mortal once, too.”

“Yeah, like what, two, three hundred years ago?” Bonnie shot back, raising a brow.

“More than two, less than three,” Mangle grumbled, glaring off to the side, but Blu apparently ignored her.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Blu stated matter-of-factly. “No matter how much you might want to stay, one day you’ll have no choice but to leave. If desire or adventure doesn’t take you away then obligation will.”

“Just stop arguing, guys,” Chii spoke up, stepping out of the line she and her “siblings” had formed. “Arguing’s gonna get us nowhere.”

“The bottom line is,” Alfred sighed, cutting the rabbits and fox off before they could protest, “for the foreseeable future, no, you will never see us again.”

Goldie frowned. “I beg to differ,” he muttered, eying Spring. The golden rabbit seemed to actively avoid meeting any of their gazes. In fact... _none_ of them were looking directly at them. “You’re lying.”

The Vampires blinked and all looked towards him, as if silently asking him to explain himself. “What do you mean we’re lying?” Spring questioned when it became clear he was _not_ about to explain.

“You’re not looking directly at us,” he accused, scowling. “None of you are.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Blu scoffed, looking away.

“We’re being honest when we say you won’t see us again,” Chii told them, fidgeting with her hands.

“The part you’re not saying is that _you_ will see _us_ again,” Foxy deadpanned, almost startling Goldie. None of the Vampires responded. “You’re plannin’ on keepin’ _tabs_ on us. Aren’t you?”

“We kinda _have_ to,” Blu laughed humourlessly, not even attempting to deny it. “We’ve just broken Vampiric _Law_ and by extension so have _you._ Do you have any idea what could happen now that you even know about our existence? The best thing you guys can do is forget we ever existed, but that’s not an option for us.”

“So what you’re saying is you plan on keepin’ an eye on us because we’re... what, in danger?” Bonnie questioned, raising a brow. He was starting to really regret going along with Goldie’s idea.

“To say the least,” Mangle sighed, dropping her hands down by her side. “Look, to be fair if we _hadn’t_ explained this to you, you’d probably be in even more danger.”

“I get the feeling _not_ knowing that we’re _surrounded by blood-sucking creatures_ who can apparently go _crazy_ with _bloodlust_ on _every single day_ is much more dangerous,” Foxy snorted, shaking his head. The Vampires winced at the very apt, somewhat bitter description. “If you’re gonna be keepin’ tabs on us, do it to our faces, not behind our backs. That’s just creepy and stalkerish.”

“Agreed,” Chica huffed, glaring slightly at the Vampires.

“I am _much_ less comfortable with the thought that you five are just hangin’ around, watchin’ us,” Goldie agreed, frowning. “If we’re already in danger then what’s the hush fuss about anyway?”

The Vampires all frowned and shared glances. Undoubtedly another silent conversation was going on between them. Finally, Alfred turned to look at them and stated very flatly, “Because _we’re_ dangerous, too. If you’re around us and one of us _does_ go Crazed, you’re likely to get yourself killed.”

“And,” Freddy spoke up again, “what difference is it if you go “crazed” with us _willingly_ with you and you going “crazed” when you’re watching us without our knowledge? It seems to me the outcome would be the same.”

There wasn’t exactly an argument against his words. Goldie knew it, the others knew it, and the Vampires knew it. Because he was right; it was the difference between _knowing_ you were putting _yourself_ in danger and not knowing danger was there at all.

“Look, just- just accept it the way it is,” Blu huffed, kicking at the floor childishly.

“No,” Bonnie deadpanned, glaring at the small blue rabbit. “I am _not_ consenting to some centuries-old teenagers following me around without my knowledge. You wanna keep tabs on me, dammit, you’re actually _talking to me,_ got it? I will _not_ be stalked by a teenage Vampire or whatever.”

Apparently that was _not_ how the rabbit- or the other Vampires, at that- expected this conversation to end.

_They didn’t expect us to call them out._

“On the off-chance that our interactions have not already been observed,” Alfred started, “any further interaction will put you under suspicion.”

“Too late for that,” Blu muttered. Spring lightly elbowed him.

“Now that you know, it’s safer for you five if you never see us again,” Alfred finished.

“From what I’ve heard, no, it’s not,” Chica snorted disbelievingly, setting her empty cup down. As she spoke, a strange expression crossed all five Vampires’ faces. “I’m with them, the thought of you five _stalking_ us makes me very uncomfortable. I’d _much_ rather know when you’re around than always have to wonder and watch my fucking back.”

* * *

_Do you guys feel that?_

_Yes. It’s been bothering me since we got here but I thought it might have just been a lingering presence._

_Lingering presences don’t_ move, _Spring. I don’t like this._

_Yes, I’m quite aware of that, Blu. It’s something but I can’t tell what it is..._

_Maybe it’s a dog? Or maybe there’s a sixth person here? I mean, didn’t one of them have a sibling? Maybe it’s them. Or a pet._

_Pets don’t have humanoid shapes, Mangle. It’s a good guess but I don’t think that’s it._

_Let’s just check if they have anyone or anything in that room, Spring. It doesn’t hurt to ask._

* * *

“Hold up,” Spring suddenly started, holding a hand up as if that would actually get Goldie or his “siblings” to shut up. “We can continue this argument later. What exactly is in that room over there? _"_

The golden rabbit, his expression suddenly strained, pointed at the closed door of Goldie and Freddy’s shared room, raising a brow questioningly at them.

“Uh... is this a diversion?” Bonnie asked suspiciously, watching as all of the Vampires looked at the door curiously.

“No, seriously, what’s in there? It’s been bothering me this entire time but it’s _moving_ now.”

“That’s not funny,” Foxy huffed, glaring at the rabbit. “Ya can’t get out of it that easily-”

“Wait,” Bonnie started, cutting the fox off. He remembered something that Goldie had said... just the night before. “Are you being serious?”

“Yes,” Alfred confirmed, his voice soft but very... well, serious. Concerned. Goldie glanced towards Freddy, frowning. “Is there anyone or anything else here?”

_Is this a trick question?_ “No,” Goldie answered honestly, looking back towards the Vampires. They looked incredibly uneasy suddenly. “There’s just the five of us.”

“No parents, siblings, pets, other friends?” Blu demanded quickly.

“No, no, no, and no.”

“Then get the _fuck_ away from that door.”

Bonnie blinked and glanced at the bedroom door, furrowing his brow. “Why...?”

_“But I swear I saw something! Bonnie, I’m telling you, there was something in there with us.”_

The Vampires all shared a look.

* * *

_We have no idea what it is, Spring- what can we say? That some_ presence _is approaching the door and we doubt it’s friendly?_

_There’s not much else we_ can _say, Chii. Like you said, we have no idea what it is._

_We could solve this by simply looking, you know..._

_And if it’s malevolent, Alfred? We could be putting ourselves_ and _the Mortals in danger._

_Point taken._

_We should get them out before investigating?_

_I don’t think there’s time._

* * *

“Is it that thing I saw yesterday?” Goldie suddenly asked, causing the Vampires to look back at him again.

“Thing?” Spring parroted. “You saw something yesterday?”

“Well, day before yesterday,” the bear amended, glancing towards Bonnie. “I _tried_ telling you guys something was in there with us, but did you believe me? No. Like you _never_ do.”

Spring shared a worried look with Alfred. “If you’re seeing things other Mortals can’t see,” the rabbit started, looking back at Goldie, “then you’re even more fucked than we first thought.”

Before Goldie could question what that could mean, Blu cut in with, “Seriously, Bonnie, get away from the door.”

“I don’t think it likes our presence,” Chii whispered to her brothers and Mangle, shuffling her feet nervously. Goldie was just barely able to catch it.

Standing up, Goldie eyed the Vampires as Bonnie finally stepped away from the bedroom door. “You guys are _really_ freaking me out right now.”

“To say the least,” Spring mumbled back, glancing nervously at the door.

* * *

_It’s_ right there, _what’s it waiting for?_

_The Mortals might be giving it hesitance._

_I doubt that’s its reason. I’m_ really _afraid of what it might be planning. Is it growing? Guys, it’s growing._

_Well it definitely isn’t a ghost then. Not sure if that makes me feel better._

_Spring..._

_Yes, Alfred?_

_I’m... pretty sure it’s a demon._

* * *

“A demon?!” Chii practically shrieked, turning to look at Alfred. “What do you mean you’re _pretty sure_ it’s a demon?!”

The four Vampires winced and the Mortals all shared a glance. _When did he ever say_ that?

“Relax, Chii,” Spring sighed. “If it’s a demon, it’s pretty low-level. Even common Vampires like us can deal with it.”

“But a _demon_ living with Mortals?!”

“Excuse me but _what the fuck are you talking about?!”_ Foxy interrupted hotly, leaping to his feet. “Speak so we can understand you, dammit- what’s this about a demon?!”

“You didn’t say anything about a demon last night,” Bonnie muttered.

“Yeah, well, I was _preoccupied_ with _not_ getting killed,” Spring hissed at the purple rabbit, baring his fangs in a way that reminded Goldie that the rabbit actually _was_ dangerous. “And it didn’t move last night, I just assumed it was a lingering presence from a past inhabitant!”

“What the _fuck_ is a lingering pres-”

Bonnie never got a chance to finish as the bedroom door suddenly burst open, and Goldie saw _red._ This time, however, he knew he wasn’t the only one; Bonnie stumbled back and Freddy and Chica both rushed to their feet as the _thing_ tumbled out of the room, right for the shocked Vampires.

“What the _fuck_ is that?!” Foxy nearly squealed, backing away. His eyes were wide, glued to the creature in their apartment.

“Yeah, _that’s_ the thing I saw the other day,” Goldie growled, quickly scooting away. “Only it was _much_ smaller and _much_ more humanoid!”

The Vampires scattered as the creature swiped angrily at them. “Mangle!” Alfred practically barked out the command, and the vixen nodded slightly in understanding. _What_ she understood, Goldie had no idea.

“Got it!”

“Blu, Chii, get the Mortals out of here,” Spring told the smaller two of their group, reaching into his cloak.

“What if one of you get hurt?” Chii asked worriedly, her eyes on the red creature as it turned its attention to Mangle.

“We’ll be fine, we can’t say the same for the Mortals,” Spring assured her, glancing in Goldie’s direction. “I apologize for this, really- there was no way to know this would happen.”

“I’m still so lost,” Foxy complained, backing away from the evolving fight. “But I think I don’t want to know.”

“Look on the bright side,” Blu started as he began shoving the fox and chicken towards the door. “With demons stalking you, we’re the last thing you have to worry about!”

“Not funny!”

“Just go!”

The creature behind them shrieked as the three other Vampires did who knew what to it, and Goldie felt his heart drop. There was no way the neighbors wouldn’t hear that.

He allowed the smaller chicken to drag both him and Bonnie towards the door, and Freddy followed after them with hardly a glance back towards the fight. Outside, lights were turning on.

“You five need to get out of here,” Blu muttered, slamming the door shut behind him and hurriedly pulling his hood up. Chii followed suit. “Demons aren’t Vampires’ responsibility, the proper authorities will come soon and any Mortal in this building will have their memories wiped.”

Goldie frowned sharply at the thought, glancing at his friends. “That doesn’t sound fair.”

“It’s for their own safety,” Chii told him gently.

“Ignorance doesn’t make anyone safe,” Bonnie growled, glaring at the two Vampires. “Ignorance just means you don’t know what was happening. What the _fuck_ was that?”

“Clearly a demon,” Blu huffed, crossing his arms. Doors began opening as concerned neighbors peeked out. “Seriously,” he added, dropping his voice so the strangers wouldn’t hear, “just go or else you won’t remember _us,_ either. All traces of the supernatural will be erased from your memories if you stay here, and us two can’t shadow-jump _all five_ of you.”

“First Vampires, now demons?” Freddy sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I think my ability to believe is getting smaller and smaller.”

“You must believe to some degree if you could actually see it,” Blu muttered, glancing at them. “Or maybe all of you are Sensitive and just rejected it and that’s why you _couldn’t_ see it before.”

“Sensitive?” Goldie questioned, but a sudden slam against the door startled them- and their neighbors.

“We’ll explain later,” Chii mindlessly told them, casting wary glances at the door. “Just- go, please, for your own safety. We’ll find you when it’s safe again.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Blu muttered, barely glancing at him. “Just go, Spring, Al, and Mangle need our help.”

“You’re all crazy,” Bonnie stated, shaking his head and backing up. “You’re all crazy and I still believe you for some reason.”

“Good, so believe me when I say you need to _leave,”_ Blu hissed, inching back towards the door. “Go, before the Hunters and Academy Administration come!”

_Academy?_ Although that didn't sound familiar to Goldie, it brought up a distant, fuzzy memory to Bonnie. However, there was no time to ask the Vampire what the Academy was; the rabbit in question had placed his hand on the door, sharing a worried look with his sister as the... demon slammed into it again, shaking it in its frame. Goldie could have sworn he heard wood splinter.

Realizing that _maybe_ it would be smart to actually listen to the rabbit, Goldie shared a look with his family. Slowly, the golden bear backed away towards the stairs.

“You better keep your word,” he warned the Vampire before turning and dashing down the stairs. Bonnie and the others hesitated before following.

Blu glanced over his shoulder as the Mortals disappeared from sight, a small, worried frown on his face. Whatever the demon had wanted with the Mortals, he knew, was triggered by _them_ _..._ and the demon was not happy.

Turning his gaze back to the door and mentally preparing himself for a fight, he muttered, “Yeah, well, we’ll see if we survive this first...”


	8. Storm's Brewing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually introduce the FNaF:SL characters but they are NOT important to the story.
> 
> It IS important to note that despite their names, Funtime Freddy and Foxy are both genderless.

“Spring, this is stupidly dangerous.”

“I’m _quite_ aware of that, Blu,” the golden rabbit sighed as they stared at the wriggling mass of demon that towered over them, seeming to fill the entire apartment. He clutched a glowing dagger tightly in his hand, but it was really of no help; the partner dagger was embedded in the creature’s back. It seemed to have little to no effect.

“This thing has been living with the Mortals?” Chii questioned as the demon let out a horrifying screech that could wake the dead.

Literally.

Thankfully, though, there were no graveyards within range.

“It probably had a filter,” Alfred reasoned. “So it could go undetected.”

“What I don’t understand is why all _five_ of them could see it,” Mangle complained, watching the demon jerk and scratch at her shadow creations. As its claws sliced through their seemingly-corporeal bodies, they disappeared into wisps of darkness. “One of them okay, two of them maybe, but all five?”

“You know that’s probably our fault, right?” Blu snorted, dodging a swipe of claws. The thing shrieked in anger and leapt at him, but as it approached he leapt up, slammed his feet against the wall, and lurched himself over its head to the other wall, where he decided to just hang out. “It’s been proven at the Academy, when a Mortal has knowingly met and remembers meeting a supernatural being, they begin to notice others, too. It’s called being Aware... and the name is something like knowledge-awareness theory? Some stupid name like that.”

“We know this, Blu- we sat in on some of the experiments, remember?” Mangle tossed out as the Demon climbed back to its... feet. “Hell, I’m one of the ones who _theorized_ it!”

“Goldie was the one who mentioned seeing it, right?” Alfred interrupted, shoving a short, but sharp, pole into the demon’s back as it turned to Blu on the wall. It let out a shriek and whirled around, bringing its claws down towards Alfred, but the bear rolled out of the way before its hand crashed down onto the floor, ripping away the carpet and floorboards to reveal the apartment below. “He was also the only one who remembered meeting us.”

“Well the others remembered,” Spring corrected, glancing down the hole towards the startled Mortals staring up at them. “But, ah, they thought it was imaginary or something like that, so they never _knowingly_ met us.”

“Wait, does that mean Goldie knew what we were back then?” Mangle questioned, two of her shadows swirling around and covering the hole in the floor. “We never told them, he never _knowingly_ met us, and supposedly he saw this thing before seeing Spring again last night.”

“He might have suspected something unconsciously,” Chii suggested, wringing her hands nervously as a claw clipped Spring’s cheek. “He remembered it being real, and looking back on it as a teen or young adult may have clued him in that _something_ wasn’t natural there.”

“Or,” Blu cut in, shoving himself down from the ceiling and kicking the demon in the head, knocking it to the ground, “he’s just naturally Sensitive, which would explain how he remembered us so vividly in the first place.”

“That would explain why a low-level demon is tailing him,” Spring conceded, nearly having to yell to be heard over the demon’s incessant, sound-barrier breaking shriek. They watched as it attempted to stumble back up, but a shadow tackled it back to the ground, growing and enveloping it. “Very low-level. It took us by surprise but it looks like it’s been subdued.”

“Just in time, too,” Blu sighed, listening to the sudden _bang!_ that sounded through the complex. “I think the Authorities are here.”

“You’re all fools,” a deep voice suddenly laughed, dark in tone. “Oh, I’m not the enemy here, but you have to lose _everything_ to know the truth... yes, my master will be much pleased... yet displeased... oh, yes... yes...”

Alfred and Spring shared a worried glance. _‘It can talk.’_ That was a problem... low-level demons _couldn’t talk._

 _‘I noticed,’_ Alfred returned, looking back at the struggling mass of shadows. The apartment door flew open, and they glanced back to see three forms standing there.

The middle figure was the familiar tall, thin frame of a masked human. The two on either side of him were new, though; pink and white creatures that none of them could identify right off the bat.

The three figures approached, eying the shadows. “Drop the defense,” the pink and white creature on the left, who looked a lot like a bear, commanded Mangle, and the vixen did as commanded. As soon as her shadows dissipated, both white and pink creatures lifted what looked like a white feather each, and they began to glow.

Quickly, the Vampires scrambled out of the way, not wanting to get between the demon and the blinding, assumedly-holy light. The demon shrieked in anger as it was forcibly shrunk back into its humanoid form, and then it disappeared in a flash of white light, which oddly separated and was absorbed into the feathers.

“Good job, Vampires,” the second white-and-pink creature, a fox who looked a _lot_ like Mangle, said, giving the five a grin. “Made our job easier.”

“Though we would have done it with _much_ less damage,” the bear snorted to its companion. “Ballora and Baby are downstairs, right Fiona?”

“Yes, Ferrah,” the fox, Fiona apparently, confirmed with a firm nod. “No one comes in or goes out.”

“Puppy is dealing with any police calls that may have been made,” Ferrah hummed, looking at the Vampires again. “Though I wonder why exactly Vampires were here in the first place?”

“Ah,” Spring started, glancing up, but Alfred cut him off.

“We were out to Feed tonight, but as we were passing by we sensed a strange presence,” he answered without missing a beat, his tone giving nothing away. “At first we thought it may have just been a lingering presence, but then it began to grow and move.”

“We were concerned for anyone who might have been in here,” Chii added chipperly. “Thankfully it turned out to be empty, so I guess the people who live here are out.”

Slowly, Ferrah and Fiona nodded in understanding. “Well, it’s a good thing it was stopped before it could grow any more,” Fiona sighed to their companion as both waved their hands and made the feathers disappear. “I’d hate to imagine what would happen if it got to a graveyard.”

“That would not be good,” Ferrah agreed, turning around and heading towards the door. “Come on, we have memories to wipe.”

Fiona nodded and followed their companion, giving a strange salute towards the Vampires. The moment the door swung closed behind them, Marion heaved a sigh and looked at them, sliding his mask off to show his pale scarred face and pitch black eyes.

“What did you five do?” he questioned, looking around at all of them suspiciously.

“We did nothing,” Blu immediately protested, frowning at him. “We didn’t summon that thing.”

_‘He didn’t even suggest we did, Blu.’_

_‘He was thinking it and you know it.’_

Marion studied them all for several silent seconds before he sighed again. “I owe you five a favour for your help down in Rio sixteen years ago,” he started, “so I won’t report your presence to Nightmare.” Silently, Spring cheered. “But you’re quickly running out of favours I owe you,” the human Vampire warned, sliding his mask back into place. “You’re down to three.”

“Got it,” the five chorused, flashing each other amused looks. Sometimes befriending the Lord’s right-hand man was very helpful... especially when that right-hand man was rather, ah... rebellious.

“Please try and stay out of trouble,” Marion sighed, turning around and heading to the door. “I have work to do.”

The five Vampires watched silently as Marion stalked towards the door, hood drawn. As soon as he was out of there, Alfred said, “We should probably get out of here, too, before more Workers arrive.”

“On the bright side,” Blu started as they headed towards the darkened bedroom, “I think I know what Marion’s soon visit is for.”

Spring snorted. No, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why Marion would show up at their door with a book of Law, not when he found them standing in a Mortal’s apartment with a practically-sheer lie. “That’s good.”

“We need to find the Mortals,” Chii sighed, glancing towards Spring. “You and Alfred go Hunting so you don’t go Crazed, and Mangle, Blu and I will find them.”

“We’ll meet you back at home,” Spring agreed easily enough, and the siblings all shared nods before heading into the shadows, and the apartment was seemingly empty once more.

* * *

The cafe was a few blocks from the complex, far enough away to believably be away but close enough to not look odd. The five sat in a booth, the bears on one side and Foxy between Bonnie and Chica on the other. The atmosphere was... normal, all things considered; the music played, the servers served, late-night wanderers drank their tea or coffee and ate their snacks... but a heavy air hung around the five of them.

It was tense at best.

“What have we gotten ourselves into, guys?”

Bonnie glanced up from his iced tea, frowning over at Foxy. “More like what did we just get ourselves _out_ of.”

“You know what I meant, Bonnie,” Foxy growled, looking sharply at the rabbit and the golden bear. “Why couldn’t you two just keep your curiosities to yourself? Va-”

“Foxy,” Freddy interrupted, glancing around, “not here. We can speak more when we get home.” Clearly he was remembering the Vampires’ warnings and conditions, Bonnie mused.

“Frankly speaking, I’m too scared to go home,” Chica laughed mirthlessly, mindlessly stirring the liquid in her glass. “I wonder what else we don’t know about that is lurking around.”

Glancing over at the cafe waiter as he poured tea into Goldie’s almost-empty glass, Bonnie simply said, “Everything’ll be alright.” His eyes followed the waiter, for the first time wondering if the man was as human as he appeared. “It always is.”

“Our luck has to run out at some point,” Foxy grumbled, leaning on his hand and lifting his coffee to his lips. Almost immediately, however, he slammed the cup back down and sat up, staring intently out the window. Confused, Bonnie followed his gaze to find three figures standing outside, their hoods pulled up to hide their faces. The passing people naturally gave them a wide berth, he noticed, as if they instinctively understood that _something_ wasn’t right about them.

One of the figures turned to the window, and from the light shining out of the window Bonnie could make out the figure’s white fur. Quickly, the vixen gestured for them to “come here,” her hand-waving catching the other two’s attention. Both the chicken and rabbit looked over towards the window, their eyes seeming to glow in the cafe’s light.

“Well at least they keep their promises,” Goldie commented, standing up and pulling a few dollars out of his pocket. Bonnie followed suit, and the other three hesitated before doing the same, setting the money on the table for the server to pick up and heading outside, waving to the girl behind the counter as they did so.

The Vampires quickly walked over to them, their hoods still up but none of them exactly looking threatening at the moment.

“Come on,” Blu commanded almost as soon as the five Mortals were within earshot. “We need to get somewhere more private.”

Ignoring the strange looks they received, Bonnie willingly went to follow the Vampires. He paused, however, upon noticing only Goldie was walking with him, and he looked back towards the other three. They had each stopped, simply _looking_ at the Vampires

Apparently the pause didn’t go unnoticed by the Vampires. Sighing, Mangle crossed her arms and turned to face them again. “What?”

“Why do you expect us to just _trust_ you?” Freddy questioned, frowning. “And where are the other two?”

“One, because we just saved your lives, and two, Spring had unfinished business to attend to and Alfred is assisting him,” the vixen answered without hesitance. Bonnie wondered what “unfinished business” that could possibly be, but he chose not to ask. He had a feeling he knew.

Goldie _did_ disrupt the rabbit’s Hunt, after all.

(He pushed the fact that Goldie originally _was_ his victim aside.)

“To be fair, you’re the ones who put our lives in danger in the first place,” Foxy deadpanned, his stare turning into a glare as he watched the Vampires.

“Whose fault is that?” Blu huffed, frowning towards them. “We _told_ you it’d be best to just forget about us, like you did before. Our kind and your kind coexist and at times even intermingle, but we were never meant to associate on personal levels.”

“Besides, how were we supposed to know that thing was there?” Chii interjected, reaching out to grab her brother’s shoulder- Bonnie had a feeling that was a cue to _shut up._ “Come on, we need to get out of public if we’re talking about this.”

“Well, where can we go?” Foxy snarked, raising a brow at them. “Apparently our apartment is out of the question right now!”

“Keep your voice down,” Mangle hissed, glancing over at the startled passerby. “You’re attracting attention.”

“As if your cloaks weren’t already doing that,” Chica snorted derisively.

The younger-looking rabbit heaved a heavy sigh and shared a look with his sisters. “We’re in Isolation,” he explained, his tone giving away his frustration. “We can’t let the _others_ see us, or else it’ll raise questions.”

_Others? Other Vampires? Or-_

“Questions?”

“We’re already under suspicion for being found in your apartment,” Chii explained quietly, glancing around nervously. “Thankfully one of the Academy Authorities owes us more than a few favours and isn’t mentioning it to the Lord, but if anyone else sees us out here, especially _talking to Mortals,_ it’ll raise even _more_ suspicion and definitely get back to Ni-”

“Chii!” Blu and Mangle hissed in unison, both reaching out to clap her beak shut. They looked utterly _horrified_ at her words, and the chicken’s blue eyes widened as she realized just what she had been saying.

_Academy Authorities... Lord?_

Bonnie raised a brow. “This isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned the Academy,” he started slowly, frowning and watching the rabbit who flashed him an almost dangerous look. “And you can’t take it back, now, either. What’s the Academy?”

His tone left no room for compromise. _If we’re being followed by_ things _then I want to know just what the hell_ kind _of things I’m being followed by._

_And I want to know how they work._

“It’s not safe here,” Mangle muttered after a few moments, releasing her sister’s beak. “If you want to talk about _that,_ the only safe place is our house.”

“We’re not taking them back to the house,” Blu immediately countered, frowning at the vixen. “Alfred and Spring will _freak.”_

“No they won’t.”

“Yes they will.”

“No, they won’t. They’re both _much_ more logical than you, Blu, so-”

“Will ya stop arguing?!” Foxy snarled, stepping towards the Vampires threateningly. Bonnie knew immediately, just from the shift in atmosphere, that that was _not_ the way to approach them.

All three Vampires reacted instantly to the unvoiced threat, dropping into defensive stances and baring their fangs, their lips pulling back into menacing snarls and their eyes flashing unnaturally. Around them, the shadows trembled, and Bonnie had a sudden sense of _get the hell out of here._

Immediately, Foxy took a step back, his eyes going wide, and Freddy reached out to pull Goldie back away from them. Even Bonnie unconsciously stepped back as well, his heart suddenly beating much too fast- flighty, almost- as he stared at the shorter Animals- _the Vampires._

_The creatures of the night- creatures who could easily kill us._

A few seconds of pure, tense silence passed between the eight Animals before the Vampires relaxed, standing up straight again. Their eyes, however, still held a dangerous, warning gleam.

“Don’t do that,” Blu told them, crossing his arms with a scowl. “We have instincts, too, y’know.”

“R-right,” Foxy muttered, eying them warily.

“We’ve attracted attention,” Mangle muttered to her sister and brother, glancing around. Bonnie, wondering what suddenly had the vixen tense again, glanced around as well. More than a few passers-by were watching them, and one of them was slowly, somewhat subtly, reaching behind themselves. “We have to go. _Now.”_

“We don’t have time to stay and chat,” Chii explained needlessly, forcing cheer into her voice as they backed away from the Mortals. “You know where to find us if you need us.”

“Not that you will,” Blu snorted, rolling his eyes. “All we can do for you is answer questions.”

“Keep an eye out,” Mangle added, throwing them a mock salute, and then the three Vampires darted into the shadows next to the cafe.

They were gone, leaving nothing but more questions and the tense, almost frightening atmosphere.

“You just _had_ to do that, huh?” Goldie complained, throwing Foxy an annoyed glare as he brushed Freddy’s hand off of his shoulder. Rather than startled or worried, he just looked _incredibly_ annoyed.

Bonnie realized with a start that he wasn’t afraid at all.

“I didn’t think they’d react like _that,”_ Foxy immediately defended, scowling at the bear. “I just thought it’d shut ‘em up.”

“They could have attacked us,” Chica mentioned, glancing around at them. Worry, so rare to see in the chicken, was reflecting clearly in her magenta eyes.

“They weren’t gonna attack us,” Goldie replied, shaking his head. “Didn’t you notice? They were being defensive, not offensive or threatening. They were completely within their right, too- if someone walked towards you like that, you’d react the same!”

“No I wouldn’t,” Chica countered, scowling. “I’d-”

“Come on,” Freddy interrupted with a sigh, grabbing his brother’s shoulder again. “If we can’t go home tonight, we should at least get a hotel room or somethin’. I don’t fancy sleepin’ on the streets, y’know.”

“Yeah,” the chicken muttered in agreement, and the two Animals began walking down the road. Bonnie shared a look with Goldie before sighing and following, Foxy trailing behind them.

Bonnie _really_ wanted to know what the Academy was. It kept niggling at his mind, something about it insisting that it was much more important than it sounded- that it was much more important than the Vampires were allowing them to think. The Academy- he _knew_ it was one of those things that the Vampires were skirting around. One of those things they wouldn’t- couldn’t?- talk about with them.

_And they were about to tell us anyway._

* * *

“Why the _hell_ did you invite them to come to our house?”

Mangle rolled her eyes and dropped down on the couch, lowering her hood. “Because,” she started, looking at the rabbit, “knowledge is power. You said so yourself that it’s our fault, and they’re right; being ignorant of what’s going on will only put them in more danger.”

“But if knowing is what’s putting them in danger in the _first_ place, won’t making sure they know less mean they’re safer?” Chii questioned, taking a seat next to her sister. “I mean, that demon...”

“Oh come off it, that thing would have attacked them eventually,” Mangle scoffed, unclipping the cloak and allowing it to fall down onto the couch. “And yeah, maybe our presence _did_ have something to do with it attacking so soon, but it was extremely low-level. It was still gathering strength. Or intel, even. Our presence interfered with its agenda. I think the demon realized that the Mortals had become Aware.”

“Aware?” Blu snorted, leaning against a wall. “Mangle, regular Mortals _can_ see demons.”

“But only if the demon allows them to,” Mangle countered smugly, crossing her arms. “Face it, Blu, all of them are either Sensitive or Aware. The gold bear could already see it, of course... so I don’t think the other four are naturally Sensitive.”

“This is all so confusing,” Chii complained, pulling her feet up onto the couch. “Are they Aware or Sensitive? Those are two completely different things!”

Mangle really considered it for a moment. The golden bear had been able to see the demon before finding out that they were Vampires, she mused, so assuming the Knowledge-Awareness Theory didn’t apply to suspicion... “I think the golden bear is Sensitive and the rest are Aware,” Mangle decided.

“If Goldie was Sensitive, he would’ve known right off the bat that Spring wasn’t normal,” Blu countered, frowning at her. “Therefore he’d be _Aware,_ not _Sensitive,_ and that’s assuming, still.”

“But he _did_ know Spring wasn’t normal, didn’t he?” Mangle questioned, raising a brow at her brother. “From what Spring told us, he immediately realized something wasn’t right- and it took only a few hours for him to come to the conclusion _Vampire.”_

“That’s because he’d seen us all a decade ago and knew we should have been older,” Blu dismissed, rolling his eyes and waving his hand. “He became Aware.”

“But he saw the demon when no one else did,” Chii pointed out.

“Maybe the demon did that. They can choose who can and can’t see them, after all.”

“He’s a twin,” Mangle told him, shaking her head. “If the demon had chosen to show itself to Goldie, then Freddy would have been able to see it, too. You know that.”

“They’re fraternal twins, that’s a bit different,” Blu huffed, flicking an unruly clump of fur away from his face.

Mangle shook her head again. “Sensitivity can be different based on identical and fraternal status,” she corrected. “Demon magic would still be affected by it, since they have a very close bond.”

“When did you become the demon expert?” Blu asked, annoyed that every argument he made was effortlessly refuted.

“I control shadows, Blu- that’s _very_ close to being demon magic in itself,” Mangle stated dryly, crossing one leg over the other. She knew Blu _hated_ when she did that. He said something about it making her look “pretentious” or “authoritative,” or something along those lines. _Especially_ when she was lecturing him. “Besides, I studied demons at the Academy, remember? It was research for the Knowledge-Awareness Theory you mentioned earlier.”

Blu opened his mouth to respond, but he suddenly paused and lifted a hand to his head, closing his eyes tightly and leaning heavily against the wall. Mangle's ears flattened, concern for her brother quickly beating out her irritation. She knew what Visions could do to Vampires, after all.

His sisters stayed silent, waiting for an entire half minute until he moved away from the wall and sat down on Chii’s other side. He fell heavily onto the cushion, and Mangle knew he had been on the verge of collapse.

“Two in one day,” he muttered, opening his eyes again. He didn’t lower his hand, however, and lightly massaged his temple despite knowing it wouldn’t help. “This hurts _really_ bad.”

“Here,” Chii murmured, reaching over and gently touching his forehead. Blu flinched slightly, but relaxed after a few seconds. “Better?”

“A bit, yeah... thanks, Chii.” She just nodded her response and sat back again, watching as Blu let his hand fall down into his lap.

“What was it this time?” Mangle asked, raising a questioning brow at her brother. It was rare for the rabbit to get multiple Visions in a week, let alone a day. The rabbit leaned back and rested his head, closing his eyes.

“I don’t know exactly, but I saw a fire,” Blu answered simply, but then continued with, “It wasn’t our house, I didn’t recognize the building at all. But one of those Mortals was standing outside it- the fox. I only saw his back, ‘cause he was looking at the fire, but something about the way he was standing seemed... tense. Alarmed.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Chii murmured, worry lacing her tone. Mangle could only nod in agreement.

“Just... one more thing,” Blu added slowly, opening his eyes and looking over at them. His eyes had a strange look in them, looking almost dark. Very serious... especially for it being Blu. Mangle had a bad feeling. “Someone... I didn’t recognize who... was there... but they were dressed in dark clothes and... they were wearing Arden’s Pendant.”

“Arden’s... Pendant...?” Mangle repeated slowly, eyes widening and sitting up straighter. Chii’s blue eyes had widened and a low whine sounded in her throat as Blu nodded in confirmation. “I thought Arden was disbanded... back in seventy-four...”

“I’m just telling you what I saw,” Blu told them, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I’d recognize that pendant anywhere.”

The silence settled over them, disagreement forgotten. The three Vampires just looked around at each other, and finally Mangle sighed, leaning back and turning to look at the ceiling. The memories were fuzzy, at best, but she could clearly remember the gleaming, golden pendant, its star-like symbol burned almost painfully red inside of it. Just the memory made her shudder... and she couldn't even remember what happened that day.

“Alfred is _not_ going to like this.”

**Elu Vitastin zu Bato cet Ler**

**Im Arden Vol Ket**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's not Latin or any known language, I made it up on the spot. It has a translation, but you can't know what it means yet ;)
> 
> I'm not sure if it was clear, but basically what Mangle is saying is Goldie is Sensitive (which is why he saw the demon before properly meeting Spring and was able to remember the Vampires so vividly even after a decade+) and the others are now simply "Aware," meaning now that they have knowledge of the "supernatural" they can perceive it, and if their memories should be wiped, they will lose this ability. (It'll be explained later why non-Sensitive and non-Aware Mortals can't see/perceive things such as ghosts, demons, "lingering presences," etc, don't worry.)


	9. Screwing Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to update :( The chapter's kinda short but I didn't want to put too much in it.

_“Arden’s Pendant?!”_

“Are you _absolutely_ sure, Blu?”

“Yes! I know what I Saw! That symbol’s ingrained into my brain, you know- I know what it looks like!”

“But Arden- that was disbanded around forty years ago, it can’t have been...”

Spring’s words trailed off as Blu just looked at them, his eyes reflecting the fear that Spring undoubtedly felt. “Spring,” he started, his voice soft, “I know what I Saw.” His voice was filled with conviction, and neither Spring nor Alfred could find words- because Blu’s Visions had never been wrong before.

With a breath, Alfred lifted a hand to his face and simply walked away. _Arden,_ he thought miserably, walking into the shadows and reappearing in his private room. He pulled his cloak off and looked around, towards the thick red curtains on the window, the red and gold canopy bed in the center, towards the pictures he hung on his wall, to the boarded and locked door, to the candles lighting his room, to everything that had become his life after those long torturous weeks.

 _Arden._ That one simple word weighed on him, memories forcing themselves into the forefront of his mind almost painfully.

Dropping the cloak on the floor, he walked over to his bed and dropped down onto the mattress, staring towards the windows. “Arden,” he repeated out loud, slowly, softly. It tasted vile on his tongue- like a curse so horrible that no one would dare utter it. Like something that mothers would swat their children’s hands for saying, the kind of word drunkards would hurl at each other in the midst of a bar fight.

_Arden’s return is not okay._

Closing his eyes, he could see it clear as yesterday- the others, thankfully, only had vague memories of it... mostly that pendant dangling around _its_ neck... but... sometimes... he could hear Mangle whining in her sleep, begging for it to stop... sometimes... he would catch Blu absently rubbing at his neck when he thought no one was watching him, and sometimes he would notice Chii gripping her wrists tightly, or find Spring gazing blankly at the scars on his arms... and Alfred knew they had some impression of the memory- of the hands, of the chains, of the teeth, of the pain...

None of them remembered the way Alfred did, though.

Alfred wanted to keep it that way.

_If Arden returns, then my job just got a whole lot harder..._

He couldn’t let them remember.

* * *

_THE DURMONT PAGES_

_FEBRUARY 19, 1792_

_Seven days ago Albert and Constance Fischbach’s five children went missing. Since then investigators have found the remains of two teenagers but both were confirmed to be human remains and therefore unrelated._

_Mr. & Mrs. Fischbach reported that their children, four of whom they adopted from the local Danver-Durmont Orphan House, left the family home to celebrate with friends their youngest son’s eighteenth birthday and their eldest daughter’s engagement around noon. They were last seen walking east down Lake Road. _

_In the days since their disappearance, neighbors have reported suspicious activity at the Arden Farm next to Durmont Lake. However when investigated nothing strange was found. The owner of the property was taken for questioning but released due to lack of evidence._

* * *

_THE DURMONT PAGES_

_MARCH 4, 1792_

_Arden Farm goes up in flames!_

_Yesterday March 3, 1792, Arden Farm burned to the ground. A short investigation has authorities suspecting arson._

_The owner of Arden Farm was nowhere to be seen, but an underground bunker previously hidden was uncovered by the flames. Inside was a disturbing sight, reports Michael Afton; he likened it to a torture chamber with chains on the walls and bloodied tools scattered around the tables._

_Articles identified as belonging to the Fischbachs were found at the scene but no remains have yet been discovered._

_Authorities have released a warrant for the arrest of William Afton, the owner of the Arden property, on suspicions of murder. If you have any information about the whereabouts of William Afton, please come forth._

* * *

_THE DURMONT PAGES_

_SEPTEMBER 15, 1793_

_Unidentified remains have been found in Durmont Lake, numbering twelve in all. There has been no word on whether or not the missing Fischbachs are among them, but an anonymous source working closely to the case has confirmed that the remains are from multiple different Animals. All of them appear to be between the ages of eight and twenty-one, and the oldest skeleton is believed to date back to the late 17th century._

_Are these William Afton’s victims? If predictions are correct it is unlikely. Does this mean Durmont Lake has over the last century been the dumping ground for murder victims? Perhaps even longer, suggests Detective Schmidt. The recent dry spell has lowered the lake substantially but it is believed that more remains may still lie under the water._

_If you have any information..._

* * *

Goldie glanced around their apartment warily, stepping through the living room to the bedroom doors. Cocking his head, he listened carefully.

Silence.

He let out a sigh and turned to the others. “I don’t hear anything,” he told them, watching as Chica pulled the curtains open. In the beam of light he could see dust flying through the air.

“Neither do I,” Freddy agreed, watching the beam of light hit the floor.

“Have the last few days just been a dream?” Chica mumbled, more to herself than to them. “Everything seems to be in place.”

Goldie felt a strange tugging in his chest. “No,” he immediately answered, shaking his head. “If it was a dream then only one of us would have had it.”

“I wish it was a dream,” Foxy groaned, collapsing on the couch and covering his eyes. “I want to go back to the world where vampires’re fairytales and demons are religious folks’ explanation for disease and mental illness!”

Something was nagging at Goldie. He could feel the fur on the back of his neck rise, felt a shiver down his spine, felt like... like... his skin was crawling, at best.

At worst, he felt like his skin was trying to peel away and leave his frozen bones exposed.

“Well tough shit, I do too but guess what, we can’t,” Bonnie groused, leaning against a wall. “I dunno what the hell’s going on but I don’t like it.”

“Close the curtains,” Goldie suddenly said, staring at the glass and the light beyond. From there he could see the alley he had run into Spring in.

“Goldie?” Freddy’s voice was filled with concern but Goldie didn’t take his eyes off of the window.

_Someone’s watching us._

But he knew better- it wasn’t someone. It wasn’t another person, another set of mortal eyes on him making his skin crawl. It wasn’t anything he had ever really _known_ before. It was new yet familiar- strangely familiar, frighteningly familiar, but _I can’t remember from where._

No, it wasn’t some _one_ watching them.

It was some _thing._

Something familiar.

“Close the curtains,” he repeated, somewhat more urgently. Chica moved to do as he said, pulling the curtains shut and blocking out the sunlight again. Almost immediately the feeling faded and Goldie relaxed.

“I think we’ve majorly fucked up,” Foxy muttered, his voice just barely reaching Goldie’s ears.

“No,” Freddy sighed, sitting down in a chair and looking around at all of them. “I think we’re just more aware. That... _thing_ last night could’ve killed us. If anything, I think we’re lucky.”

Goldie turned to Freddy, somewhat shocked. “Wait, you’re actually acceptin’ all of this is real?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Freddy immediately started, eying his elder brother, “the moment there’s logical proof otherwise I will turn my back on this supernatural crap, but for now it’s the only explanation we have.”

“This is quite the turn of events,” Bonnie commented, yawning audibly from where he leaned against the wall. “I think, though, that we should all get some damn sleep- I couldn’t get any last night.”

“Yeah I’ll _so_ be able to sleep in this apartment now,” Chica snorted. However, she turned towards the bedroom she was to share with Bonnie and headed inside.

Goldie was less enthusiastic.

“You guys go ahead,” he started, watching as Bonnie followed Chica into the room and Foxy rolled off of the couch and climbed back up to his feet. “I don’t think I can sleep right now.”

Freddy eyed him, frowning slightly. “You’re not gonna do anything stupid or crazy, right?”

“We’ll see,” Goldie simply shrugged. Freddy’s frown deepened.

“I’m not tired,” Freddy told Foxy as the fox headed into the other room. Goldie noticed the fox hesitate and step away from the door.

“I think I’ll sleep in the living room,” the fox muttered before returning to the couch. Goldie and Freddy shared a look but neither could really blame him.

“I’m gonna walk,” Goldie told his brother, leaving the invitation floating silently in the air.

Freddy, clearly, understood what Goldie was actually saying and nodded. “I’ll walk with you.”

Nodding, Goldie headed towards the door. Freddy was quick to follow.

The door clicked behind them.

“Do you really want to do this, Gold?” Freddy asked quietly, hurrying to fall into step next to him. “As much as I’m unsure ‘bout all this, I _do_ think gettin’ involved is dangerous.”

Goldie glanced towards him. “I think not gettin’ involved is just as, if not more, dangerous,” he revealed. “I dunno if you felt it but I think somethin’ was watchin’ our window. Or... watchin’ _us._ I could practically feel it.” He turned his gaze to the stairs as he made his way down them, a hand on the rail. “I don’t remember but it felt kind’a... familiar.”

His brother made no move to respond, simply following him down the stairs.

“Do you remember the way to Lakeview?” Goldie suddenly asked, glancing back at the brown bear. “It’s on the... northeast side, right?”

“Across Eastway Bridge,” Freddy confirmed with a nod. “At least from this part of town.”

“Across the river, right.” Goldie sighed and headed towards the door. “I always hated that fuckin’ bridge, ya know. It’s really... isolated.”

The bears hesitated as they stepped into the bright light. “Maybe,” Freddy started, “we should just go the long way. Through the city. Eastway is faster but...”

He was nervous, Goldie realized; Freddy didn’t understand what was going on but he understood now that they were in danger. _Maybe we’ve always been, but are moreso now._

The eyes were back. Goldie could feel them on his back, following them as they walked down the sidewalk. “Yea,” he agreed, not sure if he wanted to be on an isolated road if those eyes chose to follow them. “Yeah, through the city with lots of people.”

“Sounds good to me.”

* * *

Spring couldn’t sleep.

His sisters and Blu had all retired to their shared room and Alfred had yet to leave his personal room. Spring wouldn’t be surprised if none of them were sleeping.

Nervously he rubbed his arms and ran his tongue over his fangs. His body was aching with injuries that had long since healed, even if their marks had never gone away. He couldn’t remember for the life of him where they came from, but every time he heard about Arden- every time news of them cropped up- back when the Academy found their headquarters and shut them down, he _ached._

It tingled in his flesh and vibrated in his bones, screaming for some sort of relief that he couldn’t get until his mind had been drawn away from Arden- from that _pendant_ _he could see, dangling on a thick leather cloth as someone... someone whose face seemed to be completely gone... man, woman, he couldn’t tell... as they leaned over him, hands- clawed, scaly, fleshy, he couldn’t remember- reaching out to grab him... he laid out on the floor- table?- unable to lift his arms, his legs, his head- his body was on fire and his heart was racing, vision blurring but always focused on that pendant, that blood-red diamond- the twisting silver and gold forming hourglasses on either side..._

It was only a flash in his memories- one of the few moments he could remember during _that_ time. Shuddering, Spring rubbed his arms again and looked around the foyer. It was dark, shadows creeping around, but they didn’t bother Spring. They had long since become normal for him- just another part of his life.

There was a creak. His gaze snapped over to the covered windows, brow furrowing. Another creak and the sound of footsteps on the porch alerted him that _someone_ was out there- _no, more than one person._

He nearly stopped breathing, ears perked as he listened to the footsteps approach the front door. The front door was boarded up but Spring knew from past experience that that didn’t stop _everyone._

The footsteps stopped and Spring could hear murmured voices. Carefully Spring approached the door, ear twitching upwards. _It’s those kids. Or... not kids anymore. Two of them,_ he determined, frowning. _How do they expect to get in through there? They’re not gonna break our door again, are they?_

Clinging onto the distraction, Spring pressed his ear against the door.

 _“-rded up, Gold. There’s no way we can get through,”_ one of the voices was saying.

 _“We just have to get creative,”_ the other- _Goldie,_ he realized- retorted. _“Too bad the wood’s not as rotten as it was fourteen years ago.”_

Heaving a sigh, Spring leaned against the door. “You know,” he called through the door, “breaking into our house isn’t a good idea.”

There was a beat of silence, then, “Spring? That’s your voice, right?”

“Yeah,” Spring confirmed, glancing towards the ceiling. “And no, I’m not opening the door for you. I’m not getting Dusted today.”

 _“Dusted?”_ the other voice- Freddy, if Spring had to guess- whispered to the bear on the other side. Spring decided not to elaborate.

“We need to talk you y’all,” Goldie told him, a frown in his voice.

“I know,” was all Spring said.

“Can you let us in somehow?”

Spring hesitated. “Can it not wait until after dark?”

“Not when we just walked through the damn city to get here.”

Frowning, Spring asked, “Why didn’t you just take Eastway Bridge?”

“Because we don’t have a death wish,” Goldie responded dryly. Spring snorted at the irony there.

“Could’ve fooled me,” he muttered, but then he began wondering just _why_ Goldie and his brother were afraid to cross Eastway Bridge. From what he understood the bridge itself was well taken care of and in no danger of falling into the river below, despite it looking the same as when Spring was a child. Sighing, he said, “Go around the left side of the house, between the guest house and this one. You’ll find an outside cellar door there. It’s locked but it’s wood and we haven’t replaced it in a hundred years. Be careful.”

Without waiting for their response he pushed away from the door and walked towards the kitchen where the _inside_ cellar door was. He walked up to the door and paused, frowning, before sliding the locks out of place and opening the door, staring down the stairs into the darkness.

The dark didn’t scare Spring. The thought of the spiders and rats that undoubtedly resided in that abandoned, unclean cellar didn’t scare him either. Still, though- he never liked going inside.

Breathing in, he crept down the stairs carefully, watching for the dim light filtering in through high muck-caked windows. After ascertaining that he could avoid the sunlight, he stepped off of the stairs onto the dusty concrete floors. He could feel movement in the cellar- small things skittering across the floor, creeping up the walls and across the ceiling, the things they never let upstairs if they could help it. The scent in the partially-underground cellar was stale at best, musky at worst, and it was unsurprisingly damp.

In the corner something slithered away. He shuddered; _we should really take care of this place._

A few seconds passed before he heard a knock on the cellar door. Then another knock, this one louder, and Spring realized it wasn’t a knock at all.

Stepping back and away from the cellar door, standing somewhat behind old abandoned boxes- just in case- and he watched as the wood began to splinter. It didn’t splinter as much as it simply split, a century of neglect leaving it as rotted as the wood over the windows.

The area with the lock on it fell inwards and a pocket of sunlight hit the floor. Instinctively Spring ducked away from it, but when none of the light reached him he relaxed. The shrieking sound that reached his ears told him that the door was being pulled open, its hinges protesting the entire way. He winced, considering just _how_ rusted those hinges were.

He was honestly surprised that any Mortal could pull them open.

“Ugh, it certainly smells bad enough,” he heard Goldie complain. “Is that a spider web?”

“I’ll grab a stick,” Freddy sighed, clearly exasperated with his brother, and Spring couldn’t help but smile slightly.

_“Oh, gross, there’s a web! I’m not going in there!”_

_“Will you relax, Blu? There’s not even a spider in it, it’s a cobweb.”_

_“I don’t care, it’s still gross.”_

_“Alright, alright, I’ll go grab a stick, just relax.”_

“Spring? You down there?” Goldie called and Spring peeked out from where he was hiding, eying the bear at the top of the steps in the square doorway. The sunlight was almost blinding and Spring felt a desire to look away; even the light reflecting into his eyes seemed to hurt.

“Yes,” he answered, watching Goldie turn in the direction of his voice. “I’m in the shadows,” he added, smirking slightly. “Don’t like webs, do you?”

“I don’t care about webs,” the bear scoffed. “It’s spiders I don’t like.”

“Spiders are the least of your worries,” Spring warned him as the brown bear returned, a long stick in hand. “I haven’t been down here since we first moved here. More than spiders live in here. There’s a snake in the corner so be careful.”

“A snake?!” Goldie yelped.

“Calm down,” Freddy commanded as he carefully stepped down first, using the stick to get rid of the cobwebs. “Don’t mess with it and it won’t mess with you.”

Once the way was clear, Goldie followed his brother down and pulled the cellar door shut again. “You guys should really keep your doors and stuff good, you know,” the golden bear said, turning to follow Freddy across the cellar to the stairway. Spring stepped out from behind the stack of boxes. “Someone’s gonna break it all and get in, y’know.”

“It’s already been done,” Spring noted dryly, watching Freddy set the stick down by the stairs. “Fourteen years ago. Remember?”

“Vaguely,” Freddy deadpanned, turning to look at Spring in the darkness.

“Children do lots of stupid things,” Spring mumbled, glancing towards Goldie. The bear frowned at him.

“We’re not children anymore,” he reminded.

“I wasn’t talking about now.”

With that, Spring turned and went back up the cellar stairs, stepping out into the kitchen and waiting for them to join him. Once the two bears were safely on the linoleum floor, Spring closed the cellar door and threw the locks back into place.

“Is that really necessary?” Freddy asked.

“It is for us,” Spring stated matter-of-factly, moving towards the dining room and the sitting room beyond. “The others are... trying to sleep, so keep your voices down. They’ll echo in here.”

He was unable to see the look shared between the brothers as he located a chair and sat down, pulling his legs up onto the seat with him. The bear brothers sat together on the couch, glancing around at the flickering candles.

“Still no electricity,” Goldie noted.

“We have no need for it,” was the only thing Spring could think of to say. “What did you need to talk to us about?”

The brothers frowned, sharing a look, before Goldie said, “Well, I wanna know if there’s a reason someone would be watching us.”

“Watching you?” Spring repeated, his mind immediately jumping to Blu’s vision. _The fox standing outside a burning house, a dark figure wearing Arden’s Pendant standing nearby..._ He shoved the thought aside. _I’m sure it’s just a coincidence._ “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Goldie started, hesitant, “when we got home this mornin’ and the curtains were open I could’ve sworn I felt someone watchin’ us... and when we left, the eyes followed. And they didn’t leave until we came here.”

Spring stared at him blankly. The bear fidgeted nervously and Freddy glanced at the elder bear. After a few moments of silence, Spring said, “So something is watching you and you bring it here.”

It took a few moments for the bear to apparently realize what he did wrong.

“Your home was the location of a Demon attack,” Spring told them, voice soft, as he tightly folded his hands on his lap. “It could have either been the Demon’s master or the A... authorities keeping an eye on things,” he corrected himself. “No matter which one it is you’ve _definitely_ put yourself in danger.”

“How?” Freddy asked carefully, but the gleam in his eyes told Spring he already knew. However, Spring knew he was waiting for an answer- verification or denial. Spring wished he could give the latter.

With a soft sigh, Spring leaned back in his seat and turned his gaze up towards the ceiling. _If it's the Academy then their only chance at surviving now is a Blood Bind,_ he mused silently to himself, closing his eyes briefly. _They are not going to like that any more than we are. Not even Marion's owed favours will get us out of it- that would be reported straight to Nightmare..._

“Simply put,” he started, looking back towards them, “by coming here and speaking to me, you have confirmed that you know about us... and by extension, our world.” He hesitated for a moment before adding, "If it's the Demon's master then you're no longer safe in the mortal world; they will try and eliminate any mortal knowledge of our existence. That means they _will_ kill you."

"And if it's not?" Goldie prompted, a nervous waver in his voice as he and Freddy shared a look.

Spring breathed out, ears lowering as he watched them, shaking his head slightly.

"Then you're even more likely to die."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so these last two chapters have somewhat established some plot and you see a little insight into the history of Durmont and, specifically, Spring & Co. And hmm, I wonder what a Blood Bind entails? (Well, you already know that after this point Goldie & Co. will be interacting with Spring & Co.; this DOES have romance, after all, so that will have to build up... so take a guess.)
> 
> Does anyone see what I did in this chapter? ;)
> 
> Also you'll notice the pendant is described differently in this chapter than how Mangle described it. The pendant DOES have a star on it but it's not on the pendant itself, and it does have quite a bit of gold in it.


	10. Trouble Doesn't Knock, it Enters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't an April Fool's joke! I've had this written for a bit, I just... really didn't like how it came out tbh. I edited it and made it somewhat better and I'm happier with it now, but I still wish I had gone about this better.

“Great,” Goldie deadpanned, looking over at Freddy. “So Demon- we’re dead. Vampires- we’re even deader.”

“I blame you,” Freddy sighed, covering his eyes. “Why in the world did you get us into this mess, Gold?”

“Well,” Spring interrupted before the golden bear could argue, “if it’s Vampires there is a chance you’ll survive, if you make a good case for yourselves.” Goldie looked back over at the Vampire, who was glancing towards the shadowy ceiling. “I mean, I could probably cash in on those leftover debts from Marion, but... Nightmare will probably find out about it.”

“Nightmare?” the twins repeated, furrowing their brows. “Who’s that?” Goldie added.

Spring glanced back at them, seeming to debate with himself on whether or not he should tell them. Finally he just sighed and said, “You’ll probably already have to answer to him, anyway... he’s the Vampire Lord, king of all Vampires and head of the Academy and the Alliance between most Supernatural beings... not including Demons and very tentatively including Werewolves. Basically, he’s the big boss of the flipside and his word is Law.”

“Sounds frightening,” Goldie muttered, sinking down into his seat. “And he’ll probably find out about this?”

“Probably,” Spring confirmed, nodding. “If he doesn’t  _ already  _ know. Where are your other friends, by the way?”

A few seconds of silence quickly turned into horror as the brothers looked at each other. “Back in our apartment,” Freddy answered, his voice small. “Back in our apartment. Asleep."

“We’re idiots,” Goldie groaned, hiding his face in his hands. “Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck.” _

The Vampire across from them frowned sharply. “So they’re defenseless and potentially in danger.”

“We have to get back there,” Freddy started, standing to his feet. “If they’re in danger-”

“You’ll be attacked on the way out,” Spring pointed out, watching as Goldie stood up beside his brother. “That or you’ll never get there in time.”

“Can’t you do something?” Goldie asked Spring, somewhat desperately.

Spring looked away. “It’s day,” he answered. “I can’t do anything.”

“Then if it’s Vampires they’ll be safe,” Freddy suggested hopefully.

“Not if they’re Daywalkers.”

“God fucking  _ dammit,” _ Goldie hissed, turning towards the door and running out of the room.

Spring watched the brothers run back towards the basement and leaned back in his seat, breathing out deeply. He closed his eyes, seeking out his own brother as, from the basement, he heard a low curse. The bears wouldn’t be going anywhere, he knew- someone was waiting.

_ “Alfred, are you awake? Come here, please...” _

* * *

_ “Wake up.” _

The voice cut through Bonnie’s dream, jolting him awake. The room wasn’t dark as it usually was- neither occupants feeling comfortable with the light off- and across the room he could hear Chica breathing deeply, steadily.

Blinking, the rabbit pushed himself up, letting the blankets pool around his waist.

_ Who just...? _

_ “Oh good, you’re awake,” _ the voice sighed in his head, and Bonnie realized with a start that it was Spring’s voice.  _ “Listen to me, Bonnie. Keep your eyes open. Wake your friends up and get out into public. You are potentially in a lot of danger right now.” _

“What the,” he muttered, frowning. “Why are you in my head?”

_ “The bears visited,”  _ was the short explanation.  _ “I need you to get up, get your friends, and get out. Your friends made it sound like your apartment was being watched- and by extension, all of you. You might be in danger right now, please get out of bed and get out of there-” _

_ “Hey, kid!” _ another voice cut in, and Bonnie scowled at being called  _ kid _ by the blue rabbit.  _ “Just listen for a minute and get the hell out of there before you end up dead. Get your friends, get out to a public space or come here- we’re not strangers to harboring fugitives anyway.” _

It finally  _ really _ clicked in Bonnie’s mind-  _ oh shit- _ that the Vampires were the ones speaking in his head.  _ Goldie and Freddy must have gone over there, _ he realized, pushing the blankets off and standing up. After a few moments of debate, he picked a pillow up and threw it at Chica.

The chicken groaned. “Bonnie,” she growled, “I will literally kill you and serve you up to the others. You-”

“Get up,” he interrupted, walking towards the door. “I’ve got creepy voices in my head telling us we need to leave.”

_ “That didn’t make you sound crazy at all,” _ Blu snorted. Bonnie practically felt the golden rabbit hit him.  _ “Ow, Spring!” _

“Bonnie, I think we need to get you a therapist,” Chica muttered. “What in the world-”

“Just get up.”

A few seconds passed before Chica sighed and pushed herself up off of her bed. “Fine,” she grumbled, standing up. Bonnie headed out the bedroom door, glancing around. He spotted Foxy curled up on the couch and went over to him, mindlessly knocking the fox’s feet to the floor.

The rest of Foxy’s body followed and he yelped as he hit the floor, jolting awake. “Wha- what’s goin’ on?” he slurred, sitting up and staring at Bonnie. “What was that?”

“Bonnie’s going crazy,” Chica answered, earning a glare from the rabbit in question.

_ “Spring, maybe you should connect to them too.” _

_ “What? It’s hard enough to be connected to you, Bonnie, Alfred, Freddy  _ and _ Goldie you know! Especially with how damn far away they are!” _

Bonnie blinked and tilted his head. “Gold and Freddy are there too?”

_ “Yeah, we are,”  _ the elder brother’s voice confirmed. _ “As it turns out, we’re stuck at the old Lakeview mansion.” _

_ “I told you there might be people waiting outside,”  _ Spring’s voice sighed.  _ “Just, you three get here, and take the most public route you can.” _

_ “Now we have to explain even more to you fucks,” _ Blu sighed, though surprisingly there was very little malice in his voice. Bonnie frowned.  _ “I know we scared the fuck out of y’all last night, but, uh, things went pretty much the way I expected them to go. Sorry in advance if you get killed.” _

_ “Oh sure, that’s comforting!”  _ Goldie snapped over the “line” and Bonnie winced.  _ “Bonnie, just get over here, and be careful. Take a taxi if you have to.” _

“Fine,” Bonnie groused, heading towards the door and rubbing his tired eyes. “Fucking hell what did- wait,  _ did you say killed?!” _

* * *

_ What’s that crazy megalomaniac gonna do this time? _

Blu tapped his fingers against the book anxiously, glancing up at the brothers every now and then. Their family was on the way and the tension was more than a little palpable in the room.

_ “We should have just let it be,” _ he complained mentally to Spring. “ _ I told you this would happen.” _

_ “Shut up, Blu,” _ Spring groaned, rubbing his forehead.  _ “Yeah, I get it, “told you so” and blah blah, but-” _

_ “Will you two stop arguing in our heads?” _ Freddy snapped mentally, reminding Blu that the brothers were in on Spring’s mental link. And, of course, so was Bonnie. “Isn’t there enough to worry about without you two adding to everything?” the bear added out loud.

“Sorry,” Spring apologized immediately while Blu just muttered under his breath. Apparently neither bear could be bothered to care about that fact.

_ “Bonnie?” _ Goldie tried as Blu turned to look down into his book again, silently searching for some way to fix what had happened.  _ “When you get to the mansion you should be quick... there’s someone watching outside.” _

_ “Yeah, we’re quite aware of that. We’re on Lakeview. This creepy tall guy in a cloak is just standing on the side of the street.” _

“Marion,” Spring sighed, covering his face. “Dammit, Nightmare  _ definitely _ knows if he’s already here...”

“On the bright side no one’s dead yet,” Blu gave, turning a page. “If Marion hasn’t attacked then there’s a chance they’ll be spared.”

“Oh that’s comforting,” Goldie muttered, but Blu didn’t even glance up from the book. Oh sure, he wasn’t actually  _ reading _ it and everyone knew it- if he was the words would be echoing through the mental link, after all- but he just  _ needed _ to do something with his hands. It helped keep them still- the mere thought of what might happen to them- to  _ all _ of them- scared him a lot more than he wanted to admit.

_ “Where did you say we were supposed to go again?” _

_ “Between the mansion and the old guest house,” _ Spring instructed.  _ “There’s a cellar door there.” _

_ “Yeah, the front door’s sealed up again,” _ Goldie added, despite it being a no-brainer.

_ “And be careful of the snake,” _ Alfred suddenly piped up.  _ “His nest is in the corner.” _

There were a few moments of silence before Spring looked over towards the bear, who had just entered the living room a moment before. “You know about the snake in the cellar?”

“Well of course,” Alfred confirmed, setting an old, dusty book on the table- undoubtedly their copy of the Book of Vampiric Law, though Blu couldn’t be sure. He hadn’t seen that thing in like... a century. “I take things down to the cellar every now and then, you know- old broken furniture, the works.”

“Huh. Well then.”

There was a clatter and an almost girlish shriek from the cellar, causing both rabbits’ ears to perk. Freddy heaved a relieved sigh.

“That’s Foxy’s “I just saw a spider” screech,” he informed the Vampires, hurrying over to the kitchen and, assumedly, the cellar door. Goldie followed quickly after.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Mangle stood up from her seat and said, “So what are we gonna do?”

“Hope like hell that Nightmare won’t have our tails for this?” Blu suggested, dropping his book on the couch next to him and sliding over to sit in front of the ancient tome. He swept the dust off to show the cursive gold lettering, frowning down at it. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, we get the picture, Blu,” Spring snapped, voice low so as not to alert the Mortals in the kitchen. “You were right and we were stupid to think no one would find out, we  _ get it-” _

“That is  _ not _ what I said!” Blu hissed back, eyes narrowing at his brother. “I know I’m just as much to blame here, I could have easily just said no obviously and I didn’t, but-”

“Am I interrupting?”

Their eyes snapped towards the closed doorway, where a tall, masked man stood, hood pulled over even further shadowing his face from the candlelight on the walls. In his hand he held the Book of Law.

It wasn’t a perfect match, but Blu recognized this scene.

After a few seconds, the rabbit covered his face with one hand. “And that,” he started, “would be what I saw in my Vision.”

* * *

Bonnie paused right in front of the door between the dining room and livingroom, his ears twitching as he caught an unfamiliar voice. It was deep and a bit scratchy, and oddly enough it sent an uncomfortable shiver up his spine.

“And that,” he heard the little blue Vampire say, “would be what I saw in my Vision.”

“Bonnie?” Freddy muttered questioningly, and Bonnie quickly brought a finger to his lips to shush his friend. All five of them stayed incredibly silent, and Chii, who had been nervously fixing the tablecloth and placemats on the table, quickly darted through the shadows, as if called by something that Bonnie and his friends could not hear.

“You knew this would happen,” the stranger said simply. “I had expected you to know the home would be watched after a demon attack.”

Bonnie couldn’t catch the mumbled response, but whatever it was earned a sigh. “Bring the Mortals in here,” the voice commanded. “I have my orders.” There was a pause, as if someone was saying something- again too quietly for Bonnie to pick up- before the stranger-  _ is this that Marion they were talking about?- _ said, “No harm will come to them or you so long as all of you comply. The Lord’s orders have been clear.” A little louder, the voice called, “Come out of the dining room, children. This conversation is just as much for you as it is them.”

Bonnie and Freddy shared a worried look.  _ “Come out,” _ Alfred’s voice echoed in their mind.  _ “He knows you’re here.” _

_ “And so does Nightmare, apparently,”  _ Blu added worriedly. 

They waited a few moments longer before Freddy sighed and carefully pushed the door open, glancing uneasily into the room. The tall cloaked figure from outside was standing there, an old, big book in his hands. His mask was white but the perpetual grin made them all feel extremely wary.

“Come,” he- Marion?- invited calmly, nodding towards the couches and chair. All of the Vampires were standing now, looking somewhat uneasy as they stood together- Blu seemed to be holding tightly to Alfred’s arm, and Chii and Mangle were holding each others’ hands he noticed. Spring was the only one not seeking some form of comfort, his expression worried but hard.

Almost confident.

That made Bonnie feel just a little less uneasy as his friends slowly approached the Vampires, and he followed warily.

Those black eyes landed on Bonnie and paused for just a moment, and Bonnie could have sworn he saw surprise in those dark eyes. But then his gaze moved on, scanning over them all.

“As you know,” he started slowly, “telling Mortals of our existence is against the Laws, and under serious circumstances can be punishable by death.”

Bonnie glanced, somewhat disbelievingly, at the Vampire siblings-  _ “That’s not true, is it?” _

_ “Uh, yeah, it actually is,” _ Blu answered, his green eyes briefly meeting his red.  _ “Not normally, but under certain circumstances... yes.” _

“However,” Marion continued, “Nightmare has deemed this offense minor, as investigation has shown that these five Mortals have zero ties to... undesirable groups.”

_ “Undesirable groups?” _

_ “Hunters,” _ all three Vampires on the connection chorused, not taking their eyes from Marion.

“Therefore, the Mortals and offending Vampires shall be spared.” Before anyone could feel relief, however, Marion turned to look at Bonnie and his friends. “You are being given a choice.”

“A choice?” Spring muttered, sharing a wary look with his friends. 

“Yes, a choice,” Marion repeated, not even glancing towards the rabbit as he spoke. Bonnie could feel the tension in the air. “The first choice is to have your memories erased.”

Bonnie shared a look with Freddy- they had already determined that  _ that _ was not favourable to them...

“To choose to have your memories erased would mean that you will not remember any of this,” Marion expanded, his eyes trailing over each of them as he spoke. “You will not remember the Demon, the Vampires, or anything you have learned since that night you ran into the Fischbach children. If we’re thorough enough, you will not even remember what happened- what was it now, fourteen years ago?"

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel safe right  _ now,” _ Foxy huffed, frowning at the man. Bonnie was tempted to shush him- this guy didn’t look like someone to cross...

“The biggest threat to you right now comes from the fact that you are Aware,” Marion stated matter-of-factly. “With this arrangement your life will continue as it would have without the interruption of Vampires and Demons, and the Fischbachs will leave Durmont until all five of you have lived out your mortal lives.”

“Wait-  _ what?!” _ Spring almost screeched, eyes widening in shock and displeasure. “That was never a requirement before!”

“Before,” Marion started, turning to look at the family, “the mortals you came across were not so involved. At this point, even seeing you in a crowd will cause their memories to revert. This is a small town, and their hometown. They are bound to return at some point in their lives, potentially after you have left Isolation. The chances are too high if you remain in this town. Therefore, should they choose this, you will leave until the Academy informs you that the last of them is dead.”

“But that’s not fair!” Blu protested, letting go of Alfred’s arm. “This is our home! This is where we grew up, our parents-”

“Are long since dead,” Marion coldly interrupted, causing all five to flinch and Blu to instinctively step back. Bonnie glanced, worriedly, at Freddy and Goldie; the former wore a strange expression that Bonnie couldn’t quite read. “Orders are orders. Apologies, but you have lived here ever since being released from the Academy and you will continue living here long after this family is gone. Sixty to ninety years isn’t much to ask- a mere moment in your life.”

Spring frowned sharply but said no more, and neither did his brother. Bonnie was not comforted by this at all. “And what’s their other option, then?” the golden rabbit asked tightly.

Marion met his gaze before turning back to Bonnie and his friends. “The second option,” he started, “is a Blood Bind.”

“Okay,” Spring started slowly, carefully, as he glanced over at the confused Mortals. Bonnie wasn’t sure he liked the sound of this. “And... exactly what Vampires would be performing a Blood Bind with them?”

_ “Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say,” _ Spring silently begged.

_ “What’s a Blood Bind?” _ Goldie asked mentally, his confusion shared with the rest of their companions. None of the Vampires answered as Marion leveled them with his almost-dead stare.

“By order of the King, it would be you five.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a scene I cut out of this and put as a flashback in the next chapter, as it would have spoiled what Marion was going to say (as it was a scene of Nightmare) if I'd left it in there.
> 
> Nightmare... isn't necessarily good but he's actually not a bad person, either. Don't be too mad at him!


	11. Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take so long to update this story because I have an issue where I hate everything I write for this story? Like, I'm trying to get it to the point where it really gets interesting but there's this stuff that has to happen first and I am bad at explanations... but here we go?

_ “Sir?” _

_ The bear didn’t even look up, staring ahead of him with a frown tugging on his lips. The nervous girl standing before the throne took a shaking breath before trying again, saying, “M’Lord?” _

_ After a few seconds, the bear turned his dark red eyes to the girl before him. After a moment or two he sighed and sat up straight in his chair. “Yes, madam?” _

_ She fidgeted. “Has Sir Ferris reported to you yet?” _

_ “If this is about the Fischbach Family, Emilie, I am already aware. I’ve already Seen them and it has been reported to me by three different sources.” _

_ “O-oh,” the girl stammered, stepping back nervously. The bear’s ear twitched, somewhat annoyed as he noticed that she didn’t bother to leave. “Then you know-” _

_ “That they have revealed themselves to Mortals, yes.” _

_ “And... what... what do you plan to do with the Mortals, S-Sir?” _

_ He leveled the Vampire with a stare, watching her violet eyes widen. “Tell me, Madam,” he began slowly, “how that is any of your concern.” _

_ “I-It’s not!” she squeaked fearfully, holding her hands up. “It- I just, you see, these Mortals- when they were young I- their parents- I would babysit-” _

_ “And we know how  _ that  _ one turned out,” the bear snorted, turning his gaze towards the ceiling. “Why should  _ you  _ care about these Mortals, Madam, when  _ you  _ are the one who took one of their brothers from them?” _

_ “I-I,” Emilie stuttered, averting her gaze, “I know they’re good kids- were good kids- it’s just- I think- they have potential- they-” _

_ “You fear we will have them killed.” _

_ “Y-you... won’t?” _

_ He looked down at her boredly, barely considering her question. “My dear,” he drawled, leaning on his hand, “if we had every Mortal who found out about us killed, we would start a mass hysteria in the Mortal world  _ and  _ run low on food.” He gave it a moment of thought, watching the nervous girl. She seemed very... worried. Worried for the lives of mere Mortals. “Tell me, you know much about these... children,” he snorted. “Do they have any ties to Hunters?” _

_ “N-not that I am aware...” _

_ “Would they have any interest in destroying our world?” _

_ “N... no, in fact they might h-have the opposite interest...” _

_ “Are they any threat to my subjects, Isolated or otherwise?” _

_ “O-of course not... they-” _

_ “Then they are no threat to me,” the king interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “I trust Marion will take care of the problem- correctly this time,” he added, rolling his eyes at a fleeting memory. “Keep an eye on them, of course, wipe their memory if needed, kill them if they become dangerous, and if you’re really so worried make them take the Oath.” _

_ “A... a Blood Bind, Sir?” _

_ “Yes.” He let his gaze fall down to Emilie again. “Those five are working to keep them safe, you are asking that they be spared, Ferris has indicated he’d prefer them to stay alive, two of my Daywalkers work with one of them and get along... well,” he sighed, running a hand over his face. “And Marion just gave me  _ that  _ look- it seems like everyone  _ but  _ me is fond of these five, and I don’t understand it but for now I will let it be... so long as they’re kept an eye on.” _

_ “How do you wish we do that, Sir?” Emilie asked, her nerves seeming to have melted away upon realizing her king wasn’t about to murder someone. _

_ The bear leaned back in his seat, considering it. He was just going to let Marion deal with it however he saw fit- Marion Saw even more than he himself did, after all, but...  _

_ Slowly, a smirk grew on his face. _

_ “Send Marion to them,” he commanded. “After the Mortals are at the Fischbach Mansion, of course. Have Marion  _ refresh their memories _ about the Law, and give the Mortals a choice; erase their memories or Blood Bind. If they choose the former, the Fischbachs are to leave for another town- _ I don’t care  _ about their ties to Durmont so shut your mouth, Madam Emilie, you know what will happen if the Mortals see them again- until the last one has died.” _

_ “And... if they choose the latter?”  _

_ His smirk widened. “Then the Fischbachs are assigned with their Watch.” _

_ Emilie sputtered, eyes widening in horror. “You want the  _ Fischbach  _ children to do the Blood Bind?!” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “B-but they’re- Sir, they’re not even half a millennia old- they only  _ just  _ started being able to Feed without killing- they-” _

_ “Made their bed,” he finished, cutting the girl off with a dangerous grin. “Now they are to lie in it.” _

_ “Sir, I really-” _

_ “Madam.” Her teeth clacked together as her mouth snapped shut, the air in the room suddenly feeling different-  _ charged. _ The king lifted his hand again and waved her away. “My decision is final. No more arguments. Repeat my command to Marion, if he has not already Seen it, and be on your way.” _

_ His tone left no room for argument, and as Emilie realized she had just made things worse for the five Mortals who had until then been no concern to her king, she clenched her teeth and bowed politely. _

_ “As you wish, m’Lord.” _

_ Nightmare watched as the girl walked away, slowly shaking his head and frowning to himself. Sometimes he  _ really  _ didn’t understand why everyone seemed to think he would just... kill for no reason. _

_ Killing five people who were just barely adults seemed like such a waste, after all. _

Does everyone think I’m some crazy bloodthirsty megalomaniac?

* * *

“U-us?!” Chii stammered, eyes widening in shock. Spring just closed his eyes. “But we- we don’t even- how-”

“I’ll go pack my stuff,” Blu deadpanned, turning around.

“Wait- what?” Goldie started, standing up. “What’s even going  _ on, _ what the hell’s a Blood Bind and why are you five freaking out about it?”

“Blood Binds are super tricky,” Mangle sighed, running a hand through her fur as she glanced towards the ceiling. “It’s so easy to mess up- amateurs are advised to never actually do it with a Mortal unless they’ve been thoroughly trained in it.”

“Which we have not been,” Alfred finished, shaking his head. “I advise you to take the memory wipe. It is far less dangerous.”

“What’s a Blood Bind?” Goldie repeated. 

The five Vampires fidgeted and Blu glanced their way. “It’s a... “relationship” between a Vampire and a Mortal,” he started slowly, choosing his words carefully. “A bind made in blood. It would, in a way, bind your life to a Vampire’s. It’s... an ancient magic that is only legal under the King’s command- like Turning someone,” he added almost thoughtfully. “They can only be done legally with the King’s permission...”

Alfred shifted slightly, his gaze flickering towards the wall. “It’s incredibly dangerous. You’re better off not remembering.”

“I think that’s up to  _ us _ to decide,” Bonnie snapped, annoyed that the Vampires seemed so  _ insistent _ on them giving up their memories.  _ “You know damn well why we don’t want to forget.” _

_ “It’s a hell of a lot safer forgetting than risking a Blood Bind.” _

“Just tell us what a Blood Bind is and what it means,” Freddy responded simply, quietly- in that way that his family knew would get anyone to listen to him.

Apparently it worked on the Vampires just as well.

They shared uneasy looks before Blu crossed his arms and looked away. “What would happen,” he started, “is you would essentially share blood with a Vampire- not drink it or anything like that, that would actually turn you  _ into _ a Vampire- but you would share blood. Like... I don’t even know how to describe it,” he groaned, covering his face. “It’s just- a magic thing with blood and- and magic, just, you know!”

_ “We don’t.” _

“It would mean you and the Vampire would essentially be each others’ keepers,” Alfred picked up from his brother’s sub-par explanation. Before any of them could question what he meant, the bear continued, “The Vampire would basically watch over you and protect you as they can, as per the Bind, and you would help the Vampire if needed, and make sure they don’t go... Crazed.”

“If they  _ do _ go Crazed, you’re expected to kill them,” Mangle added flatly. “Your death or the Vampire’s death is the only way to break the Bind, but you can’t kill each other in cold blood- the only way you can kill the Vampire is if they go Crazed or otherwise break their side of the Oath. And the same on the flipside- if the Mortal, that would be you, broke their side of the Oath through abandonment, the Vampire would be forced to kill you.”

“And if one kills the other without the Oath being broken,” Chii added nervously before any of them could question that word  _ forced, _ wringing her hands together, “then both the Vampire and the Mortal die. They’re literally bound by blood, which is one of the more powerful dark magics there is...”

“It’s really dangerous magic,” Spring sighed, shaking his head. “Just...”

“Even the Bonding process is dangerous,” Blu cut in, kicking lightly at the ground. Spring glanced over at him, noting that he refused to look towards the Mortals. “One small mistake and someone could easily die, and even if it’s successful those two people will literally be bound to each other until one of them dies. If it’s two Vampires- which is rare as, like I said, it’s a relationship between a Vampire and a Mortal- that could be for  _ eternity. _ If it’s between a Vampire and a Mortal like it’s meant to be, then there’s just a lot of factors that are... unpleasant, to say the least.”

“Like what?” Chica asked, crossing her arms and raising a brow at them.

Blu glanced over at Spring, an uneasy gleam in his eyes. Nervously, Spring answered for him, “Like we said, a Mortal in a Blood Oath is expected to make sure a Vampire doesn’t go Crazed. And... Vampires go Crazed when they go too long without... Feeding...” he trailed off, unsure if he wanted to just come out and say it or not.

Apparently he didn’t need to; when he glanced back over at the Mortals, they seemed to understand. The only one who didn’t look even somewhat disturbed at the news was Bonnie, who just raised a brow at him.

It was just so different from that little boy that broke down crying the first time they met that once again, Spring almost couldn’t believe it was really him.  _ They’re all so grown up now... _

“It’s supposed to be a mutualistic relationship,” Alfred sighed, clearly realizing Spring wasn’t about to continue, “where the Vampire offers the Mortal protection and the Mortal offers the Vampire... security, I suppose is a good word.”

“And that’s why it’d be better for you guys to choose the memory wipe,” Mangle concluded, crossing her arms and glancing at the ceiling. “It’s less dangerous and you won’t have be stuck with us the rest of your lives.

“Stuck with you?” Bonnie repeated questioningly, confused. “You didn’t mention that before.”

“I literally said abandonment breaks the Oath,” Mangle muttered under her breath.

_ Apparently they don’t understand... _

Spring took a breath and explained as simply as he could, “A Mortal bound to a Vampire has to stay close, and vice versa.” He paused, trying to think of how exactly to word it. He really hoped the Mortals were smart and took the memory wipe... “You’d never be able to leave Durmont for any long periods of time... not unless the Vampire went with you,” he told them, watching as they all shared unreadable looks. “Because the idea of a Blood Bind is that they can be there in moments when the other is powerless and in danger.”

“So basically they have to stay close to each other,” Freddy summarized. “For their entire lives.”

“And if either kills the other without the Oath being broken- that is, if the Vampire has not gone Crazed and the Mortal has not abandoned the Vampire in some way, shape or form- then both die,” Mangle added, “so it’s not like they can just decide they’re tired of it and end it.”

“But what about if both mutually decide to, uh, separate or whatever?” Bonnie asked, raising a brow. 

It was Marion who answered, flatly stating, “They can’t.”

Spring shared a look with Alfred as the Mortals looked toward the masked man. “Why not?” Goldie asked, confusion lacing his voice.

_ “It’s not like an emotional relationship,” _ Spring silently informed the bear.  _ “It’s a physical relationship- not like that- and they’re physically tied together by-” _

“Because the blood of the Vampire is in their system,” Marion explained and the Vampires looked over at him again. Spring bit his lower lip as Marion added, “If the Mortal physically abandoned their bound Vampire, the Vampire’s blood would react with the magic of the bond and the lack of the Vampire’s passive magic- that is, the Vampire’s presence- and would essentially poison the Mortal, killing them slowly from the inside out. This is, of course, only over a period of time, not days but months.”

“Okay, and what happens to that blood if the Vampire is killed somehow?” Chica asked warily, eying the masked Vampire.

“It fades away,” Marion answered simply, shrugging. What a weird sight that was, too. “The Vampire dies and the bond is broken- the magic sustaining the Vampire’s blood in the Mortal’s system is removed, and the blood filters out naturally without the magic sustaining it. It’s a... complicated process, but magic often is.”

After a few moments, Freddy spoke up, saying, “Excuse us a moment.” The bear grabbed his brother’s arm and practically dragged him to the dining room, and their friends were quick to follow. 

Spring quietly sighed, hoping the more sensible Mortals would lead them in the right direction. As much as he’d miss those not-children-anymore and their home, it was better than-

“I’m guessing you already know what choice they will make,” Marion spoke softly, getting Spring’s attention. The masked Vampire was looking at Blu, whose gaze was stubbornly on a curtained, boarded-up window.

“There’s only one reason Arden would be after them,” Blu spoke softly, and Spring took in a sharp breath as he realized Blu was right.

There was only one reason Arden would be after those Mortals. There was only one reason Blu would have had that vision- visions from events that he would personally witness...

_ I guess they won’t, then. _

* * *

“So the choice is either have our memories erased and live the rest of our lives unknowingly around people who could kill us in seconds flat, or go through with some magic process that not only has the potential to kill us but if successful could  _ still kill us, _ and knowingly associate ourselves with people who could kill us in seconds flat.”

“When you put it like that, Freddy, we sound pretty fucked,” Bonnie commented, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

“Because we are,” Freddy answered, shaking his head at Bonnie. “Don’t you understand? We agreed that memory erasure was not okay, but the only alternative we’re being given is to  _ literally  _ be tied to the vampires, so  _ literally  _ that we can’t even change our minds and if we go a few months  _ without _ seeing them this “magic” thing will view us as  _ abandoning _ them and  _ kill us.” _

“I don’t want to forget,” Goldie immediately stated, despite Freddy’s words.

“It doesn’t matter what we want individually, what we want collectively is what matters,” Chica huffed, sending a glare over at Goldie. “The problem here is, we don’t know if having our memories wiped will  _ actually _ stop that demon thing- that was living in  _ our apartment- _ and whatever it worked for from trying to hurt us, like that vampire’s claiming.”

“In fact,” Foxy started, “we agreed that it was stupidly dangerous to  _ not  _ know about it.”

“But it’s also stupidly dangerous to go for a “blood bind,”” Freddy argued, shaking his head. “We can’t even leave or else  _ their _ blood kills us!”

“This seems like a shitty choice,” Foxy groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“It is.”

“So forget and be in danger, or remember and still be in danger,” Chica summed up, shaking her head. “I dunno, I kinda agree that I don’t want to forget. But then again, I also don’t fancy the thought of being bitten just because someone forgot to eat,” she added dryly.

“Technically they never said you have to be the one to give them the blood,” Bonnie pointed out, though he knew damn well that was what had been implied- he assumed it would be the fastest and safest way to get the Vampire out of the... danger zone.

“Still.”

“Guys, we have to make a choice,” Freddy sighed, shaking his head. “And I have a feeling we have to make it now.”

“I don’t want to forget,” Goldie repeated, but then he added, “but if you guys would rather that, then...”

“Of course we wouldn’t rather that,” Foxy snapped, tail flicking in agitation. “But I also don’t  _ rather _ bein’ tied to a  _ vampire, _ dammit!”

“I mean, on the one hand none of us actually had plans to leave Durmont,” Bonnie sighed, glancing at the ceiling. “On the other, none of us planned on getting involved with Vampires.”

“We’re already involved,” Chica pointed out. “Whether or not we remember, that won’t change.”

“I kinda like them,” Goldie admitted somewhat sheepishly. “The vampires, that is. They’re weird but in this... oddly endearing way.”

“Endearing isn’t the word I’d use,” Freddy muttered, shaking his head. Then he sighed and said, “If I’m actually honest, there’re a few questions I have anyway...”

Bonnie raised a brow; it had seemed like Freddy was gung-ho to get the hell out while they still could...

“What d’ya mean?” Foxy asked, frowning over at the bear.

“They’re the Fischbachs,” Freddy answered, looking at them. “Didn’t you hear the masked vampire say it?”

“And that’s significant... how?” 

Bonnie didn’t know, but apparently Goldie did as his eyes suddenly widened and he uttered, “Oh my god.”

“Exactly,” Freddy said to his brother before answering Foxy, “Don’t you remember? It’s what led to the discovery of all the bodies in Durmont Lake- five kids went missin’ back in the late seventeen-hundreds, and neither they nor their bodies were ever found.”

“Specifically, the  _ Fischbach _ children,” Goldie added quietly, shaking his head. Bonnie was more than a little confused- he had no idea what they were talking about beyond the bodies in the lake. Everyone knew about that... “Hell, the old farmland down the road is where it’s thought they died. Bloodstained tools, their clothes, some of their other possessions all found in some weird vault beneath the field... Don’t you guys remember?”

“Nope.”

“Not at all.”

“Not ringin’ a bell.”

The brothers looked at each other in dismay, and Bonnie felt almost stupid- if  _ Goldie _ knew about it, it  _ must _ have been something that was talked about a lot around town...

“So,” Bonnie started hesitantly, “you’re saying some kids who have been missing for a couple hundred years are them?”

“It would make sense,” Goldie gave without giving a definitive _yes,_ glancing at the ceiling in thought. “No bodies were found, only their belongings on that old farm in a bloody room...  _ after _ the farm burned to the ground.”

The five of them were silent for several moments, none of them exactly sure what to say.  _ They did mention being over a century old, _ Bonnie remembered.  _ Maybe we can ask about it... _

“Wait,” Foxy interrupted Bonnie’s thoughts. Bonnie looked up from the floor, watching as his canine friend practically stared Freddy down. “Are you seriously considerin’ takin’ the oath so you can get to the bottom of a two-hundred year old cold case?”

A moment of silence passed where Freddy, though looking sheepish, neither confirmed nor denied the accusation, and Bonnie couldn't help but laugh. It was just so like Freddy... “So basically,” he summed up, “Freddy wants to solve an age-old mystery, Goldie actually  _ likes  _ the vampires, and Foxy and Chica don’t want their memories touched because we’re surrounded every day by things that could kill us and it’s a hell of a lot more dangerous than not knowing.” Honestly, Foxy and Chica's was the more logical reason of all.  


“And what’s  _ your _ excuse for wanting to take the bind instead of the memory wipe?” Chica griped, glaring at him. He didn't even try to deny that he was also on the side of the oath.  


Bonnie considered it for a moment. Truthfully, he didn’t really  _ have  _ a reason... but it seemed a hell of a lot cooler than spending his life working night shift at the convenience store and possibly teaching music at the local community college.

Though he wouldn’t admit it, Freddy also had him a little curious.  


And it definitely had nothing to do with the cute blue vampire with the bad attitude. Nope.

“It just sounds a lot cooler than getting my memory wiped,” he decided to say with a shrug and a grin, prompting the others to groan and roll their eyes. “Seriously, “I’m a vampire’s keeper” sounds a lot cooler than “I met vampires and got attacked by a demon but I can’t remember it because my memory was fucking wiped,” so...”

“Leave it to you,” Chica mumbled, shaking her head. “So, did we all just basically say “let’s take the blood bind”?”

“I think so.”

“We’re really idiots, aren’t we,” Foxy sighed, dropping down into one of the dining room chairs. 

“Probably,” Freddy agreed, frowning. He seemed to be battling with himself. “But...”

“How about we all just come out and say the truth,” Goldie started quietly, somehow silencing anything else that was about to be said. “We’re choosing it because we want to.”

And even though Bonnie had no idea why he or anyone else would  _ want  _ to, regardless of how they felt about the vampires or some age-old mystery that had been haunting the little town, somehow the statement rang true in his ears... 

None of them denied it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're finally getting into the meat of the story.
> 
> God damn I hope my explanation of the blood bind wasn't too confusing, but at the same time I hope it was because it's supposed to be XD
> 
> And yeah, at the end there, Freddy was totally trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince them. Curiosity wins in the end, whoo!


End file.
